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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Cardinal Sin, by Eugène Sue, Translated by
+Alexina Loranger
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: A Cardinal Sin
+
+
+Author: Eugène Sue
+
+
+
+Release Date: July 15, 2006  [eBook #18832]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CARDINAL SIN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Al Haines
+
+
+
+A CARDINAL SIN
+
+by
+
+EUGENE SUE
+
+Translated by Alexina Loranger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Chicago
+W. B. Conkey Company
+Copyright, 1892
+by Morrill, Higgins & Co.
+Copyright, 1893
+by W. B. Conkey Company
+
+
+
+
+A CARDINAL SIN.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+On a beautiful, bright morning of the month of May, 18--, a young girl
+of eighteen years or thereabouts, whose pale, melancholy face reflected
+only too plainly the wretchedness and privations of her daily life, was
+wending her way, timidly and with hesitating steps, through that
+populous quarter of the city known as the _Charnier des Innocents_, a
+dreary spot, principally noted for its large number of public scribes,
+who make a precarious living by acting as secretaries to the ignorant
+people of the vicinity.
+
+Two or three times she paused, undecided, before an open door; then,
+thinking perhaps that the writer was either too young or
+unprepossessing, she slowly resumed her search.  She had reached the
+last of the row, and was on the point of retracing her steps, when her
+gaze fell on a venerable old man, whose benign countenance beamed
+kindly on her from his desk; and without further hesitation she
+resolutely entered the little shop.
+
+Struck by the touching beauty and modest attitude of the young girl,
+the scribe greeted her with paternal affability, and discreetly drawing
+the curtain over the dingy window, motioned her to a seat, while he
+sank back into his old leather-covered arm-chair and waited for her to
+speak.
+
+The girl's pretty face flushed and she cast down her large, blue eyes
+in embarrassment, while a painful silence followed.  She was evidently
+agitated by a deep emotion, for her breast heaved visibly beneath the
+worn merino shawl she wore over her faded gingham dress, and her hands
+trembled slightly as she folded them on her lap.
+
+"Why this embarrassment, my dear child?" said the old man kindly.  "Do
+you wish me to draw up a petition, a request, or write a letter?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur, I want a letter written," she replied in a low, soft
+voice, her face flushing still more painfully.
+
+"Can you not write?"
+
+She shook her head and cast down her eyes once more.
+
+Fearing he had needlessly humiliated his client, the old man hastened
+to add:
+
+"Poor child, do you suppose me capable of blaming your ignorance?"
+
+"Monsieur!--" she began in protestation.
+
+"Ah! believe me," he interrupted, "I feel a great deal of compassion
+for persons who, having no education, are forced to have recourse to
+men of my profession, to admit them into their confidence, and reveal
+their most secret and dearest thoughts!  It is very painful, is it not?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, monsieur!" exclaimed the girl, touched by these words.
+"To be obliged to address myself to a stranger, to--"
+
+Her eyes filled with tears and she paused in confusion.
+
+"My dear child, pray recover your composure," entreated the scribe.
+"You need fear neither indiscretion nor ridicule with me.  The
+confidence reposed in me by persons whom chance or misfortune has
+deprived of the benefits of education, has always been considered as
+sacred to me."
+
+"Oh! thank you, monsieur; you relieve me of half my grief by
+understanding and excusing my embarrassment," said Mariette,
+gratefully.  "Oh! yes," she went on with a sigh, "it is very cruel to
+know neither how to read nor write; but alas! it is not my fault."
+
+"Ah! my poor child, like many others who come to me, it is the want of
+opportunity, and not the absence of good will, which has deprived you
+of knowledge.  Some are forced to assume the care of younger brothers
+and sisters while the parents work; others are sent out as apprentices
+at an early age--"
+
+"I was placed as an apprentice at the age of nine," sighed Mariette,
+"and until that time I was retained at home to care for a little
+brother, who died shortly before my parents."
+
+"Poor child, your story is similar to those of your companions that
+come to me.  But why did you not try to gain some education when you
+had finished your apprenticeship?"
+
+"Where would I find the time, monsieur?  I work almost day and night to
+provide for my godmother and myself--"
+
+"Time, alas! is the bread of the poor!" broke in the old man; "they
+must starve to death or live in ignorance."
+
+He paused for a moment, then asked with renewed interest: "You speak of
+your godmother; have you no other relative?"
+
+"No, Monsieur," replied the girl sadly.
+
+"But forgive me, I am taking up your time uselessly instead of coming
+to the purpose of my visit."
+
+"My time could not be better employed than in listening to you, my
+child; for I am sure you are a good and honest girl.  Now let us see
+about the letter.  Will you merely state what you wish to write, or do
+you prefer to dictate to me?"
+
+"I prefer to dictate the letter."
+
+"Very well, I am ready," declared the old man, adjusting his glasses
+and bending over his desk that he might not increase his pretty
+client's confusion.
+
+With down-cast eyes, and after a moment of hesitation, Mariette began:
+
+"Monsieur Louis--"
+
+At the name of Louis the old man started, but said quietly: "It is
+written, my child."
+
+Nothwithstanding her confidence in the old man, the girl instinctively
+shrank from revealing her inmost thoughts to a stranger.  But after a
+momentary pause, she went on hesitatingly:
+
+"I have received no word from you, and I am very sad.  Yet, you had
+promised to write during your voyage--"
+
+"During your voyage," repeated the writer, who had become suddenly
+thoughtful.  "A strange coincidence," he said to himself, with growing
+anxiety.  "His name is Louis, and he is away."
+
+"I hope that you are well," continued the girl, "and that your silence
+is not caused by illness, for my grief would be doubled."
+
+"To-day is the sixth of May, Monsieur Louis--_the sixth of May_--and I
+would not let the day pass without reminding you of me.  Perhaps you
+had the same thought also, and I may receive a letter from you when you
+receive this from me, the day after to-morrow.  Then I shall know that
+the delay was not caused by illness or forgetfulness, and how happy I
+shall be!  I shall therefore await the day after to-morrow with much
+impatience.  May heaven protect me from disappointment, Monsieur
+Louis--"
+
+Mariette stifled a sigh and wiped a tear from her pale cheek.
+
+The features of the writer, who still bent low over his desk, were
+invisible to the young girl, and she was unconscious of the expression
+of alarm that had crept over them.  Two or three times, while writing,
+he had cast furtive, scrutinizing glances at his client; and it was
+evident that his first impulse of sympathetic interest was changing to
+restraint caused by serious apprehensions.
+
+Folding her hands once more on her lap, Mariette resumed:
+
+"I have nothing new to tell you, Monsieur Louis.  My godmother is still
+ill, she suffers very much, and the torture she undergoes embitters her
+character more and more.  That I may be near her as much as possible, I
+now work at home instead of going to Mme. Jourdan.  The days seem
+wretchedly long and sad, for working at the shop with my companions is
+much more cheerful, and I can accomplish more.  I am therefore obliged
+to stay up very late; and I sleep but little, as my godmother always
+suffers more at night and, consequently needs more care.  Sometimes I
+fail to hear her first call, I sleep so soundly; then she scolds me,
+which is only natural when she suffers so much.
+
+"I tell you these things to show you that my life is not a happy one,
+and that one word of friendship from you would encourage and console me
+for so many sad things.
+
+"Farewell, Monsieur Louis.  I counted on Augustine to write; but she
+has gone away and I am dictating this letter to another person.  Ah!
+never have I so much regretted my inability to read and write as at
+this moment.  Farewell, once more, Monsieur Louis; think of me I beg
+you, for I think of you always."
+
+"Is this all, my child?" queried the old man, after a moment of silence.
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"And what name shall I sign?"
+
+"Mariette."
+
+"Mariette only?"
+
+"Mariette Moreau, if you please."
+
+"Mariette Moreau," repeated the old man, as he inscribed the name.
+
+Then folding the letter, he made a violent effort to conceal the secret
+anguish with which he awaited the reply to his question, and asked:
+
+"To whom shall I address it?"
+
+"To M. Louis Richard, at Dreux, to be called for."
+
+"No more doubt of it," thought the old man, as he prepared to address
+the letter.
+
+Had the young girl been less pre-occupied with her, own thoughts, she
+could not have failed to remark the harsh expression which darkened the
+public writer's countenance when he learned beyond doubt to whom this
+innocent missive was addressed.  In fact, he seemed unable to make up
+his mind to inscribe the name given, for when he had written the word
+"Monsieur," he suddenly dropped the pen and looked up.
+
+"My dear child," he began, trying to smile with his usual benevolence,
+that he might not betray his resentment and apprehensions, "although
+this is the first time we meet, it seems to me that I have inspired
+confidence in you."
+
+"Indeed you have, monsieur," she assured him.  "Before entering your
+house I feared I would not find the courage to dictate the letter to a
+total stranger; but you received me with so much kindness that my
+embarrassment has almost completely melted away."
+
+"Why should you have felt any embarrassment, my child?  Even though I
+were your father, I could not find a word to reproach you in what you
+have written to--to M. Louis--and it I did not fear to abuse your
+confidence in me I would ask--but no--it would be an indiscretion."
+
+"What would you ask, monsieur?"
+
+"Who this M. Louis Richard is."
+
+"Oh! that's no secret, I assure you.  M. Louis is a student; the
+notary's office in which he is employed is in the same building as the
+shop in which I work.  That is how we met, just one year ago to-day."
+
+"Ah!  I now understand why you insisted on the date of your letter;
+to-day is the anniversary of your first meeting!"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"And you love each other.  There, don't blush, my child--I suppose you
+will marry some day?"
+
+"Yes, monsieur."
+
+"Has M. Louis' family consented to the marriage?"
+
+"M. Louis has no one to consult but his father, and we hope he will not
+refuse his consent."
+
+"And what kind of a man is he?"
+
+"The best of fathers--so M. Louis tells me--and a man who endures his
+poverty most courageously, although he once had a comfortable home.
+But M. Louis and his father are now as poor as godmother and myself;
+and this is why we expect no opposition to our marriage.  No difficulty
+can arise between poor people."
+
+"It seems to me that your godmother does not make life very happy for
+you, my child."
+
+"What will you? it is so natural to be ill-humored when one suffers
+incessantly and life is but a continual round of misfortunes."
+
+"Is she a cripple?"
+
+"She has lost one hand, besides being afflicted with a lung disease
+which has kept her confined to her bed for more than a year."
+
+"How did she lose that hand?"
+
+"She pricked her finger with a mattress needle, and as she could not
+stop work, blood poisoning followed, and she was forced to have her arm
+amputated."
+
+"Poor woman," broke in the old man, absent-mindedly.
+
+"As for her lung trouble, it is very common among women who continually
+breathe the dust arising from the wool used in mattresses.  My
+godmother is almost bent double, and during her long paroxysms of
+coughing I am sometimes obliged to support her in my arms for hours."
+
+"You alone, then, contribute to her support?"
+
+"Certainly, since she is unable to work."
+
+"Such devotion on your part is very generous."
+
+"I only do my duty, monsieur.  She gave me shelter after my parents
+died, and paid for my three years of apprenticeship in the shop.  Is it
+not just that I should now care for her?"
+
+"You must work very hard to earn sufficiently."
+
+"From fifteen to eighteen hours a day."
+
+"And instead of taking a much needed rest at night, you watch over your
+godmother?"
+
+"Who would care for her if I did not?"
+
+"Why not try to place her in the hospital?"
+
+"She would not be admitted, as her case is incurable.  Besides, I
+scarcely think I would have the courage to desert her thus."
+
+"You are indeed a noble girl, my child, and I judged you rightly,"
+declared the old man, grasping her hand in his.
+
+"Oh! my God!" cried Mariette, as she saw his sleeve catch the inkstand,
+spilling the contents over the precious letter.  "Ah! monsieur, what a
+misfortune!"
+
+"What awkwardness!" exclaimed the writer angrily.  "But never mind, I
+can copy it in a very few minutes.  I shall read it aloud as I go on,
+so that you may suggest any change you may think proper."
+
+"I am so grieved to give you all this trouble," she murmured, evidently
+much distressed.
+
+"It serves me right, my dear,--I alone am to blame."
+
+As he resumed his work, a violent internal conflict seemed reflected on
+his features; from time to time a sigh of relief and satisfaction
+escaped his lips; then again he appeared confused and avoided
+Mariette's limpid gaze; while she leaned on the table, her head
+supported on one hand, anxiously and enviously following the rapid pen
+of the writer, as he traced the magic characters that would convey her
+thoughts to her lover.
+
+"How much do I owe you, monsieur?" she asked timidly, when he had
+folded the missive and addressed it.
+
+"Fifty centimes," rejoined the old man, after a moment of hesitation,
+"and remember that I charge you for one of the letters only.  I alone
+am responsible for my awkwardness."
+
+"You are very kind, monsieur," said Mariette, touched by what she
+considered a proof of generosity on his part.  "Indeed," she added, as
+she replaced her slender purse into her pocket, "you have been so good
+to me that I shall ask you a very great service--"
+
+"Go on, my child."
+
+"If I have more letters to send, it will be almost impossible for me to
+go to a stranger--"
+
+"I shall always be at your service, my child."
+
+"What I wished to say was, that my godmother is also unable to write or
+read, and the friend who was my confidante has gone to the country.  So
+if I should receive a letter from M. Louis, would you have the goodness
+to read it for me?  I would then dictate the answer at once."
+
+"Certainly, my child; bring me all your letters," rejoined the old man,
+dissimulating his satisfaction.  "I am indeed much gratified by the
+confidence you show in me.  Good-bye, then.  I hope you feel less
+embarrassment now than when you entered?"
+
+"I did not expect so much kindness, monsieur."
+
+"Try to look on me as your reader and secretary, my child.  Does it not
+seem as though we had known each other for ten years."
+
+"Indeed it does--Good-bye, monsieur."
+
+Mariette had scarcely vanished, when the postman pushed the door open
+and handed in a letter, saying: "Here is a letter from Dreux, pere
+Richard."
+
+"A letter from Dreux!" exclaimed the old man, grasping it eagerly and
+examining the writing closely.  "Ah! it comes from Ramon," he muttered
+to himself.  "I wonder what he thinks of my son?  Alas! what will now
+become of the fine projects so long formed between us!"
+
+"Six sous, pere Richard," observed the postman, arousing him from his
+reverie.
+
+"Six sous!" cried the old man.  "The devil! was it not prepaid?  Ah!
+true enough," he sighed, as he regretfully handed the man the coin he
+had just received from Mariette.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+In the meantime, Mariette was hurrying homeward, somewhat uneasy at the
+thought of her long absence.  Having reached that sad, gloomy street
+known as the Rue des Pretres-Saint-Germain, she walked rapidly along
+until she came to the last dingy house facing the dark walls of the
+church, where she entered.  Crossing an obscure passage, the girl
+ascended a rickety stairway, only dimly lighted from a small court-yard
+that resembled nothing more than a narrow well, and stopped at the door
+of the _portiere_.
+
+"Madame Justin," she said to the woman, who stood on the threshold,
+"have you been up to see if my godmother wanted anything?"
+
+"I carried up her milk, Mademoiselle Mariette," replied the woman, "but
+she was in such a temper that she received me like a dog."
+
+"We must take pity on her, Madame Justin; she suffers so much."
+
+"Of course you always excuse her and suffer everything in silence,
+Mademoiselle Mariette.  It shows your kind heart, but it does not alter
+the fact that your godmother is as wicked as a red mule.  Poor child!
+you are doing your purgatory on earth; and if there is no Heaven, you
+will be well cheated."
+
+"Good-bye, Madame Justin, I must go up now."
+
+"Wait a moment, I have a letter for you."
+
+"A letter!" cried Mariette, her cheeks flushing and her heart throbbing
+violently.  "Is it from the provinces?"
+
+"Yes; the postmark is from Dreux, and it costs her six sous.  Here it
+is.  The word 'Urgent' is written in one corner of the envelope."
+
+The girl thrust the missive in her bosom; then drawing her purse, she
+took out her last ten-sou piece and paid the woman.  Taking her key,
+she then ran up the last stairs, her heart beating wildly with a
+sensation of mingled happiness and sadness.  Though she was happy in
+the possession of the letter, the word "Urgent" on the corner of the
+envelope filled her with misgivings; besides, what sadness filled her
+heart at the thought that perhaps several hours must elapse before she
+could learn what Louis Richard had written.
+
+Having finally reached the fifth floor of the dilapidated house, so
+gloomy and ill-smelling, with its atmosphere poisoned by stagnant water
+in the defective sinks and sewers, she hesitatingly entered the dingy
+room occupied by her godmother and herself.
+
+A woman was lying with her face to the wall, on the only bed that the
+room boasted; while the thin mattress that served Mariette as a couch
+was rolled in a corner, as much out of the way as possible.  A work
+table, an old dresser, two chairs, and a few kitchen utensils hanging
+around the chimney, composed the sole furniture of this humble home,
+lighted only by a narrow window overlooking the gloomy yard, but the
+most rigorous neatness was remarkable everywhere.
+
+The girl's godmother, Madame Lacombe, was a tall, gaunt woman of fifty
+years, with a cadaverous complexion and harsh, disagreeable features.
+A bitter, sardonic smile, caused by a lifetime of misery and suffering,
+habitually contracted her livid lips, her form being almost bent
+double; her mutilated arm and bilious face, enframed in a ragged cap,
+through which hung long wisps of gray hair, were alone visible outside
+the coverings.
+
+"Where have you been?" she cried, in a rasping voice, making an effort
+to tarn in her bed as the girl entered.
+
+"Dear godmother, I--" began Mariette.
+
+"Oh, yes; you go running about the streets, leaving me here alone to
+fret and fume!" interrupted the woman furiously.
+
+"But I was scarcely gone an hour," protested the girl.
+
+"And you hoped to find me dead on your return, eh?"
+
+"Heavens! how can you think such a thing!" sobbed Mariette.
+
+"Oh! yes; you may whine now.  But I am not your dupe!  You have had
+enough of me; and the day when I am screwed down in my coffin will be a
+day of rejoicing for you--and so will it be for me, too--Oh! my God!
+this is too much agony," she groaned, pressing her thin hand to her
+breast.
+
+Mariette wiped away the tears drawn by this harsh sarcasm, and
+approaching the bed, said sweetly: "You had such a bad night that I
+thought you might sleep a little in my absence."
+
+"Oh! yes--you leave me here alone, to die like a dog, while you run
+about the streets."
+
+"I was obliged to go out; but Madame Justin promised--"
+
+"I had rather see death itself than that creature," interrupted the
+sick woman angrily, "and you take every opportunity to send her to me."
+
+A bitter smile flitted over the girl's lips; but she passed this new
+sarcasm unnoticed and said gently: "Shall I put fresh bandages on your
+arm?"
+
+"It's too late now; you stayed away purposely."
+
+"I am sorry I was delayed; but allow me to do it now."
+
+"Leave me alone."
+
+"But the wound will be inflamed."
+
+"That's exactly what you are aiming at."
+
+"Godmother, I beg you!"
+
+"Don't come near me!" shrieked the sick woman furiously.
+
+"I shall wait then," sighed the girl.  "Shall I warm up your milk?"
+
+"Milk! milk! and nothing but milk!--I am just sick of it.  The doctor
+prescribed good chicken broth; and here it is Sunday, and I have had
+none since Tuesday."
+
+"It's no fault of mine, godmother.  The doctor prescribes--but money
+must be found to provide what he orders.  And I can scarcely make
+twenty sous a day now."
+
+"You don't mind what you spend on yourself," snapped Mme. Lacombe.
+
+"You know well that I have worn nothing but this faded print dress all
+winter," rejoined Mariette, with touching resignation.  "I economize as
+much as I can--and we owe two quarters of rent."
+
+"You might as well say right now that I am a burden to you.  These are
+the thanks I get for taking you out of the streets and paying for your
+apprenticeship!--you ungrateful, heartless child!"
+
+"No, no, I am not ungrateful, godmother!" protested Mariette,
+restraining her tears with difficulty.  "And, if you suffered less, you
+would not be so unjust to me--but do take something, or else you will
+be ill."
+
+"I know it, I feel a terrible gnawing at my stomach."
+
+"Please have some milk, godmother," entreated the girl.
+
+"Go to the devil with your milk!" she snapped angrily.
+
+"Shall I get you some fresh eggs?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"Will you have some rice?"
+
+"I want some chicken!"
+
+"But I can't get one on credit."
+
+"You had twenty-seven sous in your purse this morning, and the quarter
+of a chicken will do me."
+
+"But, godmother, that money--"
+
+"Well, what about that money?"
+
+"It's gone; I have only a few sous left."
+
+"And where are those two ten-sous pieces?--Will you answer me?"
+
+"I--I don't know," faltered the girl, reproaching herself bitterly for
+spending her money on the letters.  "They must have dropped from my
+purse; for I have lost them."
+
+"You lie!--I see it in your face."
+
+"I assure you--"
+
+"That's it," rejoined the sick woman, with a sardonic laugh, "she
+leaves me to rot on this wretched pallet, while she feasts on cakes and
+sweetmeats!"
+
+"I?--Oh, my God!" moaned the girl.
+
+"Out of here, you wretched creature!  You may leave me to starve; but
+don't let me see your face again!" cried the unhappy woman, driven to
+desperation by the tortures she endured and the exasperating animosity
+of fate against her.  "Ah! yes, you are very anxious to make me swallow
+that milk," she added, with a still more ironical laugh; "I am such a
+burden that you may have dropped something in it!"
+
+At this accusation--still more senseless than atrocious--Mariette
+remained for a moment dumbfounded, not realizing the full meaning of
+the horrible words.  But when their full sense burst upon her, she
+clasped her two hands together and shrank back in terror; then, unable
+to restrain her sobs any longer, and yielding to an irresistible
+impulse, she threw her arms about the sick woman's neck and, covering
+her face with tears and kisses, murmured brokenly: "Oh! godmother!
+godmother!"
+
+This heart-broken protestation against an accusation which could have
+had its birth in a delirious brain only, fortunately recalled the sick
+woman to reason.  Her heart relaxed a little under this flow of tears,
+and she realized her injustice.
+
+"There, there, little one," she said with emotion, as she took one of
+the girl's trembling hands in hers and pressed the quivering form
+against her breast, "don't cry so--how foolish you are!--don't you see
+I was only jesting?"
+
+Jesting!  A sad jest, alas! worthy only of such abject misery.
+
+"Yes; I was wrong to take your words seriously," returned Mariette,
+wiping away the tears from her pale cheeks.
+
+"What will you? you must take pity on your poor godmother, my little
+Mariette.  By dint of suffering, you see, my gall has overflowed, and
+my heart is like my mouth--bitter, Oh, so bitter!"
+
+"I know that you grumble in spite of yourself sometimes, godmother--Ah,
+it is so easy to be always cheerful and contented when one is happy;
+while you have found little happiness in your life."
+
+"True enough," said the old woman, feeling a sort of cruel satisfaction
+in justifying her embittered character by the enumeration of her wrongs
+against an implacable destiny; "true enough, many have fared as badly
+as myself, but few have fared worse.  Beaten in my apprenticeship,
+beaten by a drunken husband, crippled and ill, I have dragged my chains
+for fifty years, and none can say that I have had one happy day--one
+single happy day in my accursed life.  As we say, my little Mariette,
+my life has been without a single Sunday, while each day is a holiday
+to so many."
+
+"Poor godmother, I can understand what you have suffered," murmured the
+girl, sympathetically.
+
+"No, no, you can never understand, although you have known much sorrow
+in your eighteen years.  You are pretty, at least, and when you have a
+new frock, with a fresh bit of ribbon in your golden hair, you can
+smile at your reflection in the mirror and feel a moment of happiness."
+
+"Oh, godmother!  I--"
+
+"Be frank, little one; admit that it makes you happy, and perhaps a
+little proud, too, when people turn their heads to look at you, in
+spite of your faded gown and coarse shoes."
+
+"Indeed you are mistaken, godmother; it makes me blush to have any one
+look at me.  When I worked at the shop, there was a gentleman who came
+every day and always gazed persistently at me while talking to Madame
+Jourdan, and it mortified me to death."
+
+"Yes, but at heart you were pleased; and when you are old you will
+remember it.  You will then have something like a reflection of your
+youth; while I see nothing but gloom, and don't even know if I was ever
+young.  But as for being ugly, I am sure of that."
+
+"Oh! godmother!"
+
+"Yes, I was so ugly that I could not bear the sight of a mirror.  The
+consequence was that I found nothing better than a drunken husband, who
+nearly killed me with blows; and I was even deprived of the chance of
+rejoicing over his death, for I was obliged to pay his debts at the
+wine-shop.  Then I became a cripple, and would starve were it not for
+you."
+
+"You are unjust, godmother," observed Mariette, with a tender smile,
+trying to dispel her melancholy.  "To my knowledge, you have had one
+happy day, at least, in your life."
+
+"Which was that?"
+
+"The day you gave me shelter, after my mother's death.  Did not the
+good action give you satisfaction and make you happy for the day?"
+
+"Well, if you call that a happy day--I want no more like it."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"It was rather one of my worst days!"
+
+"Oh! godmother!" expostulated the girl sadly.
+
+"Since my wretched husband's death, I had but myself to care for; but
+in taking charge of you, it was like being left a widow with a child to
+support.  I call that anything but gay, when a woman can scarcely earn
+her own living.  But you looked so charming with your pretty curly head
+and large blue eyes, and you seemed so sad kneeling beside your
+mother's coffin, that I had not the heart to let them take you to the
+asylum.  And what a dreary night I spent, wondering what I would do
+with you, and what would become of you if work failed me!  And you call
+that a happy day?  No, no!  Had I been in comfortable circumstances, I
+would have felt that your future was assured and been happy.  But to
+merely exchange your misery for worse still was nothing to rejoice
+over."
+
+"Well, let us say no more about days," said Mariette soothingly,
+smiling through her tears, "but let us speak of moments; for I am
+determined to show that you have experienced some happiness.  Now, for
+instance, take this moment--"
+
+"Well, what of it?"
+
+"I am sure that you are happy to see that I have dried my tears, thanks
+to your kind words."
+
+The sick woman shook her head sadly.
+
+"Do you know what I think when I get over my bad humor?" she said, with
+a sigh.  "Well, I think that you must hate me for my harshness and
+injustice toward you.  And I deserve it, too."
+
+"Now you are going back to your melancholy thoughts," said the girl
+reproachfully.
+
+"Admit that I am right.  It's only natural, after all.  You kill
+yourself working for me, you feed and nurse me, and I repay you with
+harsh words only.  My death would indeed be a relief to you; and the
+sooner I am laid in my coffin the better."
+
+"I know you are jesting once more," rejoined Mariette, making an effort
+to smile, though her heart was full to bursting.
+
+"Well, if I am only jesting, little one, don't look so grieved,"
+returned the old woman, touched by the girl's evident distress.  "Now
+put the milk on the fire, and bandage my arm while waiting for it to
+boil."
+
+Mariette was as delighted over these orders as though they had been the
+kindest words in the world.  She hastily lighted the fire; cut up their
+only remaining piece of bread into a dish of milk, placed it on the
+stove, and returned to the invalid.
+
+In spite of the repugnance which the putrid sore inspired in her,
+Mariette showed as much patience as dexterity in cleansing and
+bandaging the mutilated arm; and the young girl's devotion, as well as
+her noble resignation, touched the woman's heart anew.
+
+"Sisters of Charity are often praised, my dear," she said admiringly,
+"but none of them deserve half the praise you do."
+
+"But those good sisters devote their time to strangers, godmother,"
+protested the girl modestly, "while you are like a mother to me.  I
+only do my duty, and therefore have no merit."
+
+"Poor child, my affection for you brings you but little happiness.
+Only a few moments ago I made you burst into tears; and to-morrow will
+be the same as to-day."
+
+To escape from a reply to these bitter words, Mariette brought the
+steaming milk, which the invalid drank with appetite, and then busied
+herself in making the bed more comfortable.
+
+"What will you eat, Mariette?" asked the old woman, as she swallowed
+the last spoonful.
+
+"Oh!  I have had my breakfast," said the girl bravely.  "I bought a
+small loaf of rye bread this morning and ate it on my way--there, now,"
+giving a last shake to the pillow, "you must try to sleep, you had such
+a bad night--are you more comfortable now?"
+
+"Yes, thank you, child."
+
+"I shall take my work near the window; the room is dark and this is
+very delicate work."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"A fine cambric chemise, godmother.  Madame Jourdan trusted me with it
+only after many recommendations not to lose this magnificent
+Valencienne trimming, which alone is worth two hundred francs.  This
+brings the cost to three hundred francs apiece, and there are two dozen
+to make.  It seems they are intended for somebody's mistress,"
+concluded the girl naively.
+
+The invalid burst into a sardonic laugh.
+
+"What is it?" asked Mariette in surprise.
+
+"Such a funny idea."
+
+"Ah!" ejaculated Mariette, with a vague feeling of apprehension, for
+she knew only too well the habitual character of her godmother's jests.
+"What idea, godmother?"
+
+"I was asking myself of what use such people as you and I are in this
+world--wretched creatures, who know nothing but the sorrows and
+miseries of life; do you know, child?"
+
+"Indeed, godmother, I scarcely know what to say."
+
+"Why should a respectable girl like you, who has but two or three
+ragged chemises to her name, earn the paltry sum of twenty sous per day
+sewing chemises worth three hundred francs apiece, for--"  She burst
+into another bitter laugh, and turned her face to the wall, saying:
+"Take up your work courageously, child!  I shall try to dream of
+cemeteries to cheer me up!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+Mariette's heart was fortunately too pure, and she was, moreover, too
+preoccupied with her own thoughts to feel the wretched bitterness of
+this last sarcasm.  Drawing the letter she had received from her bosom,
+she placed it on her lap where her godmother's eyes could not reach it,
+and gazed longingly at it while continuing her work.
+
+The regular breathing of the invalid soon convinced her that she was
+asleep, however, and she paused in her work long enough to tear open
+the envelope and spread the letter before her eyes.  Vain and puerile
+curiosity!  The characters were undecipherable to her!  No picture
+could be more sorrowful and touching than the sight of this young girl,
+gazing with a fast beating heart at the unintelligible missive.  One
+thing she remarked, however; the letter was very short, and this fact
+filled her with hope and uneasiness both.
+
+Did this short, urgent letter announce good or bad news? she anxiously
+asked herself.
+
+With her eyes fixed on the mysterious words, Mariette lost herself in
+conjectures and suppositions, fully convinced that so short a letter,
+after a prolonged absence, must inevitably bring unexpected news.  In
+her poignant perplexity Mariette endured torments and excruciating
+torture, to which the uneducated are continually exposed.  To hold in
+our grasp, and beneath our eyes, the few lines that bring us joy or
+sorrow, and be unable to penetrate the secret; to be under the
+necessity of asking a stranger to read these lines, and to receive from
+indifferent lips the announcement of something on which life itself
+almost depends, is an agony beyond words!
+
+Mariette's anguish soon reached such a point that she resolved, at the
+risk of being cruelly treated on her return, to have recourse to the
+public scribe at once.  Cautiously arising from her seat, that she
+might not arouse the sick woman, she tiptoed softly to the door; but as
+she crossed the threshold, a sudden painful thought stopped her.  She
+could not ask the scribe to read the letter without dictating a reply,
+and she possessed barely enough money to purchase the bread necessary
+for the day.  She already owed the baker twenty francs, and he had
+refused her further credit; she could not, therefore, spend her last
+sou on what she considered as culpable prodigality.  The reader may
+smile at this picture of overwhelming grief and cruel recriminations
+against herself _apropos_ of a couple of fifty centime pieces.  Alas!
+no sum is small or insignificant to the poor; an increase of ten sous
+in wages brings back life to the starved bodies, alleviates that living
+agony which leads so many to a premature grave.
+
+For a moment the young girl was tempted to carry Louis' letter to the
+janitress; but fearing the gossip and perhaps the raillery of the
+woman, she preferred to make a painful sacrifice and not expose herself
+to new humiliations.  She still possessed a pretty dress, bought at the
+Temple and altered to her figure, which she had worn only on the few
+occasions she had gone out with Louis.  Taking the gown from its
+accustomed peg in the corner, she folded it into a basket with a silk
+fichu that was almost new, and walked cautiously to the door once more.
+
+"Going out again--" muttered her godmother, drowsily, as she turned
+over in her bed and dropped asleep once more.
+
+Mariette stood motionless for a moment, then glided softly through the
+door and ran swiftly down the stairs.
+
+Having obtained fifty sous on the gown and fichu at the
+_Mont-de-Piete_, she hurried toward the _Charnier des Innocents_ in
+quest of the old scribe.  Since Mariette's departure, and more
+especially since he had read his son's letter in the morning, the old
+man had reflected with ever-growing anxiety over the obstacles he might
+have to overcome to accomplish his cherished project, in view of the
+secret he had discovered during his interview with the young girl.  He
+was still buried in painful meditation when Mariette suddenly appeared
+at the door.
+
+"What is it, my child?" he asked, alarmed at this unexpected return.
+"I did not expect to see you back so soon."
+
+"I have a letter from M. Louis, monsieur," she replied, her voice
+quivering slightly, as she drew the missive from her bosom, "and I have
+come to beg you to read it for me--and answer it if necessary."
+
+Trembling with uneasiness and curiosity, she gazed intently at the old
+man while he glanced through the short letter, making a strong effort
+to conceal the annoyance given him by the few lines.  Then suddenly
+starting up, and feigning great indignation, he tore the letter into
+shreds, crushed the pieces between his hands and hurled them under his
+desk.
+
+"Ah, monsieur, what have you done!" cried Mariette in dismay.
+
+"Ah! my poor child!" sighed the old man, looking at her pityingly.
+
+"My God! something has happened M. Louis!" she gasped, clasping her
+hands together.
+
+"No, my child--but you must forget him."
+
+"Forget him?"'
+
+"Yes, believe me; you must renounce your cherished hopes."
+
+"Heavens! what has happened?"
+
+"Ignorance is a very sad thing, my poor child; and yet, at this moment,
+I would pity you if you could read."
+
+"But, monsieur, what does the letter contain?"
+
+"You must think no more of your marriage--"
+
+"Does M. Louis write that?"
+
+"Yes; he appeals to your generosity and delicacy, as well as your
+kindness of heart."
+
+"M. Louis gives me up--and tells me to give him up also," she said
+slowly.
+
+"Alas! yes, poor child!  Come, be brave and resigned."
+
+Mariette turned ghastly pale and stood silent for a moment, while big
+tears rolled down her cheeky; then, falling to her knees, she gathered
+the fragments of the torn letter and placed them on the desk before the
+old man's eyes.
+
+"I shall have the courage to hear it through," she said sadly; "replace
+the pieces and read it."
+
+"Please don't insist, my child, I beg of you," he rejoined, with
+hypocritical sympathy.
+
+"In mercy, read it, monsieur!"
+
+"But--"
+
+"However painful it may be for me to listen, I must know its contents."
+
+"I have already told you what it contained--spare yourself useless
+pain."
+
+"Have pity on me, monsieur!  In the name of heaven, read it--read it!
+I must at least know the full extent of my misfortune--and, besides,
+there may be one line or word of consolation."
+
+"Since you insist on it, my poor child, I shall read it," said the old
+man, readjusting the torn pieces, while Mariette looked on with eyes
+dimmed with tears, her heart throbbing with anguish.  "Here it is."
+
+
+"My Dear Mariette:
+
+"I write these few words in haste, my soul filled with the sadness of
+death.  We must renounce our hopes, for I must secure comfort and rest
+for my father in his old days.  You know how much I love my father.  I
+have given my word, and we shall never meet again.
+
+"One last prayer: I address myself to your delicacy of feelings and
+generosity of heart--do not attempt to see me again, or change my
+resolution.  I must choose between you and my father; and if I see you
+again I may not have the courage to do my duty as a son.  My father's
+fate lies in your hands, and I count on your generosity.  Farewell, I
+can write no more.
+
+"Farewell once more, Farewell forever!
+    Louis."
+
+
+Standing motionless beside the writer's desk, with downcast eyes and
+the tears rolling silently down her pale cheeks, her lips quivering and
+her hands clasped convulsively together, Mariette presented a fit model
+for the picture of "Despair," as she listened to the words that crushed
+her heart with such cruel force.
+
+"There.  I was sure the letter would pain you frightfully," observed
+the old man, looking up as he finished reading.
+
+Mariette made no reply.
+
+"Don't tremble so, my child," resumed the old scribe.  "Sit down--here,
+take this glass of fresh water."
+
+Mariette did not even hear; but still stood gazing fixedly at the torn
+letter, though she saw it but dimly through her tears.
+
+"It is all over, then," she murmured brokenly.  "Nothing--nothing more
+in this world!--I was too happy.  Ah! I am like godmother; happiness
+was not made for me!--"
+
+Her voice died out in a stifled sob, and a pang of remorse smote the
+old man as he gazed at her white, set face.
+
+"My dear child," he said soothingly, "pray don't give way to despair."
+
+These words recalled the young girl to herself; she wiped away her
+tears and, bending down, slowly gathered the pieces of the letter.
+
+"What are you doing?" cried the scribe, in alarm.  "Why should you
+preserve these fragments, which can only recall cruel souvenirs?"
+
+"The tomb of some one we have loved, also recalls painful and cherished
+souvenirs," said Mariette, sadly, "and yet we do not desert it."
+
+Having replaced the pieces in the envelope, she again thrust it in her
+bosom; and, drawing her thin shawl closely about her shoulders, turned
+toward the door.  On the threshold, however, she paused hesitatingly
+and looked back at the old man.
+
+"Thank you very much for your kindness, monsieur," she said gratefully;
+then, after a moment's silence, she added timidly: "Although there is
+no answer to this letter, I feel that after so much trouble I should
+offer you--"
+
+"It will be ten sous, the same as a letter," interrupted the scribe;
+and without the least scruple or hesitation, he pocketed the
+remuneration with a sort of sensual pleasure, entirely unimpaired by
+the girl's wretchedness.
+
+"Good-bye, my poor child," he said, "I hope we shall meet again under
+happier circumstances."
+
+"May heaven grant it, monsieur."
+
+She walked slowly away, while old Richard closed the shutters of his
+shop and prepared to return home.
+
+Haunted by the most somber thoughts, and a prey to the most poignant
+emotions, Mariette walked mechanically onward, unconscious of
+surroundings, and of the way she went, until startled by the sight of
+the river.
+
+"Fate has brought me here," she said with a shudder.
+
+Crossing to the opposite side of the bridge, she leaned on the parapet
+and gazed at the rapid waters of the stream.  Little by little, she
+began to experience that strange fascination caused by the attraction
+of the abyss; and as her eyes followed the swift current, she felt
+overtaken by a sort of vertigo and drawn more and more toward the
+flowing waters.
+
+"Here is oblivion and an end to all sorrows!" thought the unhappy girl.
+"It is a sure refuge against all miseries, against fear and hunger,
+illness and unhappy old age--wretched as that of my godmother's--Ah!
+what would become of her without me?--"
+
+At that moment she felt her arm grasped violently, and a frightened
+voice cried out:
+
+"Look out, child, or you will fall into the river!"
+
+The girl drew back shuddering, and gazed wildly around her.
+
+"Do you know that you are very imprudent, to say the least of it, my
+child," said a good-natured looking woman, who stood beside her.  "You
+were leaning so far over the parapet that I thought you would lose your
+footing any moment."
+
+"Thank you, madame," replied Mariette, "I am very careless, indeed."
+
+"You must be more careful, my dear," returned the woman warningly.
+"Heavens! how pale you are--are you ill?"
+
+"I feel a little faint, madame," said the girl, feeling a painful
+dizziness come over her, "but it will pass away."
+
+"Lean on me, then.  You are, no doubt, just recovering from a serious
+illness?"
+
+"Yes--that's it, madame," responded Mariette, passing her hand over her
+brow, "but where am I?"
+
+"At the _Pont au Change_--Are you a stranger in Paris?" asked the
+woman, curiously.
+
+"No, madame; but I was overcome with a strange feeling of dizziness a
+few moments ago.  It is passing over now, and I recognize the
+surroundings."
+
+"You had better take my arm, you are trembling so," suggested the
+kind-hearted woman.
+
+"Thank you, madame; it's not necessary, I live only a few steps from
+here."
+
+"Well, good-bye, and be very cautious."
+
+Having recovered the entire possession of her senses, Mariette now felt
+her bitter sorrows even more keenly than before; and she trembled at
+the thought of the harsh reception that awaited her in her desolate
+home, when she had so much need of consolation, or, at least, of that
+isolation and sad tranquility which lulls the most intense grief into
+calm hopelessness.
+
+Being anxious to mitigate the cruel reproaches which her prolonged
+absence would inevitably draw upon her, she bethought herself of her
+godmother's desire to obtain the part of a chicken, and determined to
+satisfy this whim in the hope of being forgiven.  She therefore
+hastened to the neighboring shops, purchased the quarter of a fowl and
+two white rolls with what remained of the money obtained on her gown
+and fichu, and turned homeward once more.
+
+As she neared the house she was somewhat surprised to see an elegant
+cabriolet before the door; but she entered without giving the
+circumstance another thought, and stopping at the lodge asked for her
+key.
+
+"Your key, Mademoiselle Mariette?" said Madame Justin, "why, a
+gentleman has just gone up with it."
+
+"What gentleman?" queried the girl.
+
+"A decorated gentleman.  And finely decorated, too, I assure you.  A
+ribbon two good inches wide--and such a loop!  Upon my word, I never
+saw a man more beautifully decorated."
+
+"But I don't know any decorated gentleman," exclaimed the girl in
+astonishment.  "He must be mistaken."
+
+"No, indeed.  He inquired for a woman named Lacombe, a cripple living
+with her goddaughter, who is a seamstress.  There is no mistake, as you
+see."
+
+"Didn't you tell him that my god-mother was ill and could see no one?"
+
+"Yes, I did.  But he said he must see her on very important and urgent
+business; so I gave him the key and let him go up alone, having no
+desire to be abused by your godmother."
+
+More and more astonished, Mariette ascended the rickety stairs to the
+fifth floor, pausing on the landing to recover her breath and find some
+excuse for her long absence.  The door being ajar, she caught a glimpse
+of a stranger within the room, and the next moment distinctly heard
+these words:
+
+"I am delighted to find your god-daughter away, my good woman; I can
+explain myself more clearly without her presence."
+
+Mariette, who had been on the point of entering, yielded to an
+involuntary sentiment of curiosity instead, and remained where she
+stood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The stranger was a man of forty-five years, or thereabouts, with worn
+but regular features, bearing deep traces of excessive dissipation and
+the most absolute profligacy.  His physiognomy offered a strange
+mixture of deceit and impertinence; and these disagreeable traits were
+still more emphasized by a dark heavy moustache, which shone with a
+lustre equaled only by the false ebony of his artistically curled hair.
+His hands and feet were large; and, notwithstanding his visible
+pretentions, he at once betrayed the vulgar personage destined, not to
+imitate, but to parody veritable elegance.  His dress was pompous, and
+in exceedingly bad taste; and even Mariette could not refrain from a
+smile at his affected military attitude and the ridiculously large red
+ribbon that adorned his button-hole.
+
+Madame Lacombe, who had once more returned to her gloomy and sardonic
+humor, was gazing at the stranger with as much astonishment as
+distrust, feeling an almost invincible aversion against this insolent
+and patronizing personage, who had unceremoniously taken a seat at some
+distance from the bed, and was nibbling at the gold head of his cane
+while pursuing the conversation with her.
+
+"Yes," repeated the visitor, "I am delighted to find you alone; as I
+was saying, I can explain myself more clearly."
+
+"Monsieur," said the invalid, in a crabbed tone, "you have asked me if
+my name was Lacombe and if I was Mariette Moreau's godmother.  I have
+already told you _yes_.  Now what do you want of me?  Explain yourself."
+
+"To begin with, my good woman--" he began.
+
+"I am called Madame Lacombe!" interrupted the woman.
+
+"The devil!  Well, then, Madame Lacombe," resumed the stranger with
+mock deference, "I shall first tell you who I am, and then proceed to
+explain what I want."
+
+"Go on."
+
+"I am called Commander de La Miraudiere, an old military officer, as
+you see," pointing to the red ribbon on his coat, "ten campaigns and
+five wounds!"
+
+"That's nothing to me.  And then?"
+
+"I have the most brilliant acquaintances in Paris: dukes, counts,
+marquises--"
+
+"What's that to me?"
+
+"I keep a carriage, and spend at least twenty thousand francs a year."
+
+"While my god-daughter and myself are starving on twenty sous per
+day--that is, when she can earn them!" exclaimed the invalid bitterly.
+"Such is the justice of the world!"
+
+"No! it is not justice!" protested the commander.  "It is not just, and
+I am here to put an end to such injustice!"
+
+"If you are here to laugh at me," rejoined the woman, with an ominous
+scowl, "you had better go."
+
+"Laugh at you, madame!--I!--judge me by what I offer.  Do you want a
+pretty room, in a fine house, a servant to wait on you, two delicious
+meals every day, coffee every morning, and fifty francs a month for
+your snuff or other little fancies?  Eh! what do you say to that?"
+
+"I say--I say--that it's all a lie--or else there is something beneath
+it.  When one offers so much to a poor, crippled old woman, it is not
+for the love of God, I am sure."
+
+"You are right, Mamma Lacombe; it's for the love of two beautiful eyes."
+
+"Whose eyes?"
+
+"Your god-daughter's eyes, Mamma Lacombe," returned Commander de La
+Miraudiere cynically.  "No use beating around the bush, you know."
+
+"You know Mariette, then?" she said, with a piercing glance at his
+dissipated face.
+
+"I often visit Madame Jourdan's establishment, for I am exceedingly
+fond of fine linen," he observed, casting a complaisant glance on the
+embroidered folds of his shirt.  "I therefore found frequent occasion
+to admire you god-daughter; I think her beautiful and charming, and--"
+
+"And you want to buy her from me?"
+
+"Bravo! you are a woman of intelligence and good sense, Mamma Lacombe.
+You understand things without needless words.  Now, this is my
+proposition: A fine, elegantly furnished apartment for Mariette, with
+whom you shall live, of course; five hundred francs per month for her
+expenses, exclusive of maid and cook; a suitable trousseau for the
+girl; and a purse of fifty louis to begin housekeeping, not counting
+costly gifts for good conduct.  Besides this, there will be carriages,
+operas, balls, and a host of friends among ladies of my acquaintance.
+In a word, she will lead an enchanted existence--the existence of a
+duchess!  What do you think of it?"
+
+"Why not?" murmured the woman, with a strange smile.  "Poor wretches
+like us are only good to sell ourselves when we are young, or sell
+others when we are old."
+
+"Come now, Mamma Lacombe; to quiet your honest scruples, we shall say
+sixty francs per month for your pin money, and throw a superb shawl
+into the bargain.  This will enable you to appear to advantage beside
+Mariette, whom you must watch with motherly solicitude, and never allow
+out of your sight, for I am jealous as a tiger, and don't like to be
+deceived."
+
+"Only this very morning," put in the sick woman, "I was saying to
+Mariette, 'You are a respectable girl, and barely earn twenty sous per
+day sewing on chemises worth three hundred francs apiece, for a kept
+woman.'"
+
+"Chemises worth three hundred francs apiece, ordered from Madame
+Jourdan?  Let me see--ah! yes, I know.  They must be for Amandine, the
+mistress of the Marquis de Saint-Herem, my most intimate friend--I
+recommended the establishment--a veritable fortune for Madame Jourdan,
+although that devil of a marquis seldom pays.  But, on the other hand,
+all the furnishers and women he patronizes become the rage.  Amandine
+was but an obscure little shop-girl six months ago, and now she is the
+most fashionable woman in Paris.  And Mariette may have the same luck,
+you know.  Fancy her wearing chemises worth three hundred francs
+apiece, instead of sewing them!  Doesn't it make you feel like bursting
+with pride, Mamma Lacombe?"
+
+"Unless Mariette ended like a girl of my acquaintance, who also sold
+herself through misery."
+
+"What happened her?"
+
+"She was robbed."
+
+"Robbed?"
+
+"She was promised mountains of gold, too; but at the end of three
+months she was deserted and left without a single sou.  Then she killed
+herself in despair."
+
+"The devil! what do you take me for?" cried the visitor, haughtily.
+"Do I look like a swindler; a _Robert Macaire_?"
+
+"I don't know what you are."
+
+"I, an old soldier! twenty campaigns and ten times wounded!  The
+intimate companion and friend of all the _lions_ of Paris! a man with
+his own carriage and who spends twenty thousand francs per annum!  The
+devil! be frank with me!  Do you require securities or advances?  Very
+well, then; the house shall be furnished within a week and the lease
+signed in your own name to-morrow, with the payment of a whole year in
+advance; besides, if we come to terms, here are twenty-five to thirty
+louis to bind the bargain."
+
+Drawing twenty-eight gold pieces from his pocket, he tossed them on the
+work-table beside the bed, saying: "I am not like you, Mamma Lacombe; I
+am not afraid of being robbed."
+
+At the clinking of gold, the sick woman leaned out of her bed and cast
+a glance of covetousness at the glittering pieces.
+
+In all the course of her miserable existence, she had never possessed a
+single gold piece, and the sight of the scattered louis before her eyes
+almost dazzled her.  Grasping a few in her withered fingers, she held
+them up to the light, trying to catch the sun's rays that she might
+feast her hungry eyes on their sparkling beauty.
+
+"I had to show the bait to catch the old witch," said the tempter to
+himself, with a contemptuous smile.
+
+"At last, at last I have touched the glittering gold!" muttered the old
+woman, jingling the yellow pieces in her hand.
+
+"Touching them is nothing; the agreeable part of it is to spend them,
+Mamma Lacombe."
+
+"And this is enough to live in comfort for four or five months," she
+went on, piling up the coins with childish glee.
+
+"You and Mariette will have as much for every month of the year, if you
+only say so," said the tempter.  "Yes, all this gold; do you hear? in
+pure, glittering gold!"
+
+There was a long interval of silence; then, raising her sunken eyes to
+the visitor, the invalid said wistfully: "You think Mariette pretty and
+charming, monsieur, do you not?  You are right; there is not a better
+creature in the world.  Now, be generous toward her!  This sum is
+nothing for a rich man like you--give it to us as a gift."
+
+"What!" gasped the astounded man.
+
+"Monsieur, you are good and kind, pray be charitable also," pleaded the
+woman.
+
+"This sum, so insignificant to you, would set us afloat once more.  We
+could pay our debts, and Mariette would not be obliged to kill herself
+working.  She would then find time to seek a more remunerative
+position, and we would owe you five or six months of tranquillity, of
+paradise--we live on so little!  Come, my good sir, do that and we
+shall bless your name forever--and I can say that I was happy once in
+my life."
+
+The request was so naive, the tone so sincere and earnest that the
+decorated visitor was more hurt than surprised at this proposition.  He
+could neither understand nor believe that a human being could be stupid
+enough to seriously make such a request to a man of his stamp.
+
+"This is anything but flattering," he muttered to himself; "the old
+witch must take me for a young duckling ready to be plucked."
+
+"The devil!  Mamma Lacombe," he added aloud, bursting into a sneering
+laugh, "do you take me for a philanthropist, the inspector of
+charitable institutions, or a candidate for the Montyon prize?  Tut,
+tut, you will rot in your bed before you receive charitable gifts of
+six hundred francs, redeemable in blessings and grateful thanks, my
+good woman!  Bless my stars, I am not a bank of that sort!"
+
+The sick woman had yielded to one of those wild, sudden hopes, which
+sometimes sway the most distrustful beings, and even the most hardened
+victims of implacable destiny.  But the withering scorn it had brought
+upon her aroused all her ire and bitterness of heart.
+
+"Pardon me, Monsieur, if I have insulted you!" she rejoined, with her
+habitual sardonic laugh.
+
+"I am not offended, Mamma Lacombe," he returned magnanimously; "but let
+us come to the point.  Shall I, yes or no, re-pocket these beautiful
+louis, which you take so much pleasure in handling?"
+
+He stretched his hand toward the gold pieces, but she thrust it away
+with an instinctive movement and drew the shining coins nearer to her.
+
+"One moment," she said hoarsely, her eyes glittering with cupidity in
+their deep orbits, "I shall not eat your gold!"
+
+"That is just what I am urging you to do, Mamma Lacombe; I want you to
+eat that gold, on condition--"
+
+"I know Mariette," she interrupted, her wistful gaze still fixed on the
+gold, "she will never consent."
+
+"Nonsense!"
+
+"I tell you she is an upright girl.  She might, like many others, yield
+to a man she loved; but to you--never!  She would refuse, I am sure.
+You may laugh, but she has ideas of her own."
+
+"Granted, my good woman.  I believe in Mariette's good principles, for
+Madame Jourdan has known her many years and she has full confidence in
+her."
+
+"Well, then?"
+
+"Well, I also know, Mamma Lacombe, that you possess great influence
+over her and that she fears you like the devil himself--so Madame
+Jourdan informed me.  Now, you can induce, or, it need be, compel
+Mariette to accept happiness!  For, after all, you are lodged like
+beggars and starving to death.  Besides, if you refuse, do you know
+what will happen?  The girl, with her fine sentiments of
+disinterestedness, will, sooner or later, become the victim of some
+unscrupulous rascal as poor as herself."
+
+"That may be, but she will not have sold her soul."
+
+"Tut, tut, tut, those are mere phrases.  Some fine day, this lover of
+her choice will probably desert her; then, to save herself from
+starvation, she will end like the rest--mark my word."
+
+"Yes, that may be," she repeated, with a dismal moan.  "Hunger is a bad
+counselor, when we and our children have known its pangs.  And how many
+of those poor, unhappy girls might be saved with this gold!  And if
+Mariette were destined to end like them--would it not be better to
+yield now?"
+
+For a few moments, the most varied emotions were depicted on the pale,
+emaciated features of the unhappy, crippled creature.  With eyes still
+fixed hungrily on the glittering pieces, she strove to calm the
+struggle waged between misery and virtue in her heart; then, by a
+desperate effort, she closed her eyes as if to escape the fascination
+of the gold, and sank back wearily on her wretched pallet.
+
+"Go, and leave me in peace!" she said feebly, as if exhausted by the
+violent conflict.
+
+"What! you refuse?" he cried in amazement.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Positively refuse?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well, I shall take back my gold," he rejoined, slowly picking up
+the louis and jingling them together.  "I shall refill my pockets with
+the glittering yellow coins."
+
+"The devil take you and your gold!" cried the exasperated woman.  "Take
+it, and go!  I have not sheltered Mariette all these years to sell her,
+body and soul.  Rather than eat such bread, I would build a charcoal
+fire and make on end to us both."
+
+At these words Mariette entered, pale and indignant, her cheeks bathed
+in tears and her eyes flashing with anger and scorn.
+
+"Ah! god-mother," she cried, throwing her arms around the woman's neck,
+"I knew that you loved me as a daughter!"  Then turning toward
+Commander de La Miraudiere, whom she recognized as the man whose
+persistent gaze had so frequently annoyed her at Madame Jourdan's
+establishment, she added with withering scorn: "Go, this moment,
+monsieur!"
+
+"But, my dear little dove--" he began.
+
+"I was there at the door, monsieur, and heard all," she interrupted
+quickly.
+
+"So much the better then, my dear.  You know my offer; you are still at
+liberty to accept it."
+
+"Once more, monsieur, I beg you to go out."
+
+"There, there, I am going my little Lucretia!  But I give you a week
+for reflection," said the visitor, as he moved toward the door, Pausing
+on the threshold, however, he added:
+
+"Don't forget my name, my dear--Commander de La Miraudiere.  Madame
+Jourdan has my address," and he vanished with these words.
+
+"Ah! godmother," cried the girl, kissing the sick woman with new
+effusion, "how warmly you defended me! how your heart spoke for me!"
+
+"Yes, yes," muttered the invalid, roughly disengaging herself from the
+girl's embrace, "and with those fine principles we starve instead of
+rolling in luxury."
+
+"But, my dear godmother--" Mariette tried to protest.
+
+"There, there, it's all said and done now," cried the woman
+impatiently.  "I have done my duty, and you have done yours--and it's
+small good it will do either of us, you may count on that!"
+
+"But godmother, listen to me--"
+
+"And if some fine morning we are both found dead with a charcoal fire
+between us, we shall only have done our duty once more.  Ha! ha! ha!--"
+and with this grim laugh, this unhappy creature, so pursued and
+exasperated by wretchedness and misfortune, cut short the conversation
+by turning her face to the wall.
+
+Mariette silently brought in the basket containing her purchases,
+arranged the supper on the table near the bed, and quietly withdrew to
+the narrow window through which filtered the deepening twilight.  Then
+drawing the torn fragments of Louis' letter from her bosom, she gazed
+at them sadly, and sank back into grim despair.
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+In the meantime, Commander de La Miraudiere had reached the street and
+was rolling away rapidly in his dashing cabriolet.
+
+"Bah! this is only a first rebuff," he was saying complacently to
+himself; "the girl will reflect, and that old schemer will think better
+of it.  Her round eyes fairly blinked at the sight of my gold; it
+dazzled her like the noonday sun.  Besides, their abject misery will
+plead in my favor, and I have no reason to despair.  Two months of fat
+living will suffice to make the girl the prettiest woman in Paris; and
+she will do me credit at very small cost.  But I must think of business
+now; I have made a precious discovery."
+
+Having reached the Rue Grenelle-Saint-Honore, he stopped his horse
+before a house of modest appearance and alighted.
+
+"Does M. Richard reside here?" he inquired of the concierge.
+
+"Yes, monsieur, both the father and son live here," replied the man.
+
+"I want to speak to the son, M. Louis Richard; is he at home?"
+
+"He has just arrived in Paris; you will find him with his father."
+
+"I must see him alone."
+
+"That's rather difficult, as they have but one room between them."
+
+The commander drew a card from his pocket, and wrote the following
+words above his own name: "Will expect M. Louis Richard at my home,
+between nine and ten o'clock tomorrow morning, to communicate something
+of grave importance, which admits of no delay."
+
+"My dear fellow," he said, addressing the concierge, when he had
+replaced his pencil, "here are forty sous for a _pourboire_."
+
+"Thank you, monsieur," rejoined the man, pocketing the money; "but what
+do you expect me to do for it?"
+
+"Remit this card to M. Louis Richard."
+
+"Nothing difficult about that."
+
+"It must be given him to-morrow morning as he goes out, and without his
+father's knowledge; do you understand?"
+
+"Perfectly.  It can be easily done, as M. Louis goes to his studies at
+seven o'clock, while old Richard leaves only at nine for his writing
+office."
+
+"I may count on you then?" said the commander, leaping into the
+cabriolet.
+
+"Consider it done, monsieur," was the reassuring reply.
+
+The carriage had scarcely vanished when the postman appeared with a
+letter addressed to M. Louis Richard.  It was Mariette's missive, which
+the old scribe had addressed Rue de Grenelle, Paris, instead of Dreux,
+according to the girl's request.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Old Richard and his son jointly occupied a dreary room on the fifth
+floor of a dilapidated house, which might have made a fit adjunct to
+the home of Mariette and her god-mother.  The same wretchedness, the
+same destitution was visible everywhere.  A thin mattress in one corner
+for the father, a straw bed in the other for the son, a mouldy table, a
+few chairs and an old wardrobe, composed the entire furniture of the
+dingy apartment.
+
+On his way homeward, the public scribe had purchased his supper and was
+now laying the frugal meal on the table; an appetizing slice of ham,
+placed carefully on a piece of white paper that served as a plate, and
+a four-pound loaf of bread, the remains of which were to serve as
+breakfast the next morning.  Add to this a bottle of fresh water,
+standing opposite a thin candle that scarcely dissipated the gloom of
+the room, and the picture of wretchedness was complete.
+
+Louis Richard was a young man of about twenty-five years, with a frank,
+open countenance, expressive of gentleness and intelligence, and a
+natural grace which his shabby, worn-out clothes could not conceal.  As
+he dropped his modest traveling bag to the floor and embraced his
+father, whom he fairly worshipped, the happiness of being near him once
+more and the certainty of seeing Mariette the next day, made his face
+perfectly radiant with joy.
+
+"And so you made a good voyage, my son," observed the old man, his
+delight over the young man's return somewhat dampened by the uneasiness
+he felt concerning his cherished projects for the future and the
+remembrance of the events of the day.
+
+"Excellent, father!" returned Louis.
+
+"I am glad to hear it, my boy, and--but will you have some dinner?  We
+can talk while eating."
+
+"Will I have some dinner?  Well, I should say so!  I did not share the
+meals of the other travelers, and for the best of reasons," laughed the
+young man gaily, slapping his empty wallet.
+
+"Upon my word, you lost but little, my son," rejoined the father,
+cutting the slice of ham into two unequal pieces and giving the largest
+to the young man, "those hotel dinners are expensive and not worth
+much!"
+
+Having offered Louis a formidable piece of bread, the old man helped
+himself to a crust, and both father and son bravely attacked the meager
+meal, with robust appetites, sprinkling it plentifully with glorious
+draughts of clear water.
+
+"Tell me all about your journey now, my boy," resumed the old man, when
+he had satisfied the first pangs of hunger.
+
+"Really, father, there is not much to tell," remarked Louis.  "The
+notary had given me copies of several deeds, which M. Ramon was to
+read.  Well, he read and studied them most leisurely, taking five whole
+days! after which the said papers were given back to me, profusely
+annotated by that wary parsonage, and--thank heaven--here I am at last!"
+
+"Thank heaven?--can it be that you were lonely at Dreux?" queried the
+old man, looking up anxiously.
+
+"I was bored to death, my dear father."
+
+"What kind of a man must this M. Ramon be, that you were so displeased?"
+
+"The very worst kind in the world--a miser."
+
+"Hum! hum!" coughed the old man, as if swallowing a disagreeable dose.
+"So he is a miser?  He must be rich then?"
+
+"I don't know, but one may be as avaricious with a small fortune as
+with a great one; and if we are to measure M. Ramon's wealth by his
+parsimony, he must be a triple millionaire--such a wretched old miser!"
+continued Louis, contemptuously, biting into his bread with a sort of
+frenzy.
+
+"Had you been brought up in luxury and abundance, I might understand
+your recriminations against this old miser--as you call him," rejoined
+old Richard, testily, "but we have always lived in such poverty that,
+however miserly M. Ramon may be, you must have found but little
+difference between his manner of existence and our own."
+
+"But you don't understand me, father.  M. Ramon keeps two servants, and
+we have none; he occupies a whole house and we live in one attic room;
+he has three or four dishes for his dinner, while we eat anything we
+may chance to have.  And yet, we live a hundred times better than this
+greedy personage!"
+
+"I really don't understand you, my child," returned the father, more
+and more annoyed at his son's opinion of his late host.  "There can
+certainly be no comparison between that gentleman's luxury and our
+poverty."
+
+"My dear father, we are veritably poor, at least!  We cheerfully endure
+our privations; and if in my days of ambition, I have sometimes dreamed
+of a more comfortable existence, it was not for myself, you may rest
+assured, for I am perfectly satisfied with my fate."
+
+"I know your kind heart, my dear boy, as well as your love for me; and
+my only consolation in our poverty is to know that you do not complain
+of your condition."
+
+"Complain! do you not share it with me? and then, after all, what more
+could we want?"
+
+"We might want a little more comfort."
+
+"Upon my word, I don't see it in that light, father.  We don't eat
+stuffed chicken, it is true; but we eat all we want and with
+appetite--witness this empty paper and the disappearance of the
+four-pound loaf between us.  Our clothes are shabby and worn, but they
+are warm; our room is up five nights of stairs, but it shelters us; we
+earn from sixteen to eighteen hundred francs per annum between us--the
+sum is not enormous, but it suffices; we have no debts!  Ah! my dear
+father, may heaven never send us worse days, and I shall never
+complain."
+
+"My dear boy, I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to hear you speak
+thus, and to see you accept your fate so bravely.  Tell me the
+truth--have you--have you always been happy?"
+
+"Very happy."
+
+"Truly?"
+
+"Why should I try to deceive you?  Now, my dear father, have you ever
+seen me gloomy or thoughtful? do I look like a discontented person?"
+
+"You are endowed with such an excellent character!"
+
+"Oh, that depends on circumstances!  If, for instance, I were obliged
+to live with M. Ramon, that abominable griping miser, I should
+certainly become unbearable, unmanageable and frantic!"
+
+"What can you have against that poor man?"
+
+"All the ferocious resentment and rancour gathered during five days of
+torture!"
+
+"Torture?"
+
+"What else can it be, to inhabit a large dilapidated house, so empty,
+so cold and gloomy, that a tomb would be a cheerful dwelling in
+comparison?  And then, to see the two wan, emaciated servants coming
+and going like shadows in this sepulchre; to assist at those meals--and
+what meals, great heavens!--where the master of the house seems to
+count the bites you swallow!  And such a daughter!--for the wretch has
+a daughter, alas! and, his race may perhaps be perpetuated.  It is she
+who lays aside the servants' insufficient shares and puts the remains
+of the meager meal under lock and key!  All I can say is that,
+notwithstanding my usual good appetite, five minutes at that table
+sufficed to disgust me.  For one is either one thing or the other; if
+rich, avarice is contemptible; if poor, it is stupid to attempt any
+display."
+
+"My dear Louis, I find you strangely hostile to this poor man and his
+daughter--you who are always so kind and benevolent!"
+
+"His daughter! do you call that a daughter?"
+
+"What in the devil do you mean! do you take her for a monster?"
+
+"I don't take her for a woman."
+
+"My dear boy, you must have taken leave of your senses!"
+
+"But, my dear father, what would, you call a tall, dry creature,
+growling and snarling, with hands and feet like a man, a face like a
+nut-cracker, and a nose--great heavens, what a nose!--as long as this
+knife, and red as a brick!  But to be just, I must admit that this
+incomparable creature has yellow hair and black teeth."
+
+"The portrait is not flattering; but all women cannot be equally
+beautiful.  A kind heart is often better than a pretty face; and as for
+me, ugliness has always inspired me with pity."
+
+"I will say that I was much inclined to pity her when I saw her
+disagreeable face at first, especially as she was condemned to live
+with a man as greedy as her father; but when I saw that red-nosed
+creature eternally nagging and growling at those two unhappy servants,
+measure their food, and rival with her father in avarice, my first
+impulse of compassion was immediately turned to aversion for that
+wicked red-nose.  Notwithstanding my good nature, I felt a strong
+temptation to contradict and annoy this red-nose; but, fearing to
+compromise my employer's interests, I kept my peace and swallowed my
+rancour."
+
+"And you are relieving your mind with a vengeance.
+
+"Ah! what a relief, after five long days of that red-nose!"
+
+"You are painfully prejudiced, my son; I would wager that this lady,
+who appears so miserly and detestable in your eyes, is merely a woman
+of firm character and economical habits."
+
+"Well, it matters little to me what she is!  Only, I must say, there
+seems to exist singular contrasts in certain families."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Imagine my surprise in discovering in one of the rooms of this dull
+house, the portrait of a woman so beautiful, charming and distingue,
+that it seemed placed there expressly to continually mock and scoff at
+that wicked red nose.  The portrait so closely resembled one of my old
+class-mates, that I could not refrain from questioning the old miser
+about it.  He then gruffly informed me that the original was his
+sister, Madame de Saint-Herem, who died some years since.  But you
+would have died laughing had you seen them when I asked if she had left
+a son."
+
+"Well, what did they do?"
+
+"At the name of young Saint-Herem you would have thought I had evoked
+the devil.  Red-nose grew fiery and fairly glowed; while her worthy
+father admitted, with a withering glance at me, that he had the
+misfortune, in fact, to be the uncle of an infernal young bandit known
+as Saint-Herem."
+
+"This young man must bear a very bad reputation."
+
+"Florestan?--why, he is the noblest and most charming fellow in the
+world!"
+
+"But his uncle tells you--"
+
+"My dear father, Saint-Herem and myself were close friends at college,
+and you must judge of him by what I shall relate.  I had lost sight of
+him for years, when, as I was passing along the boulevard six months
+ago, I saw everybody turn to look at something on the road, and I did
+likewise.  I then perceived two magnificent horses harnessed to a
+phaeton, with two tiny domestics behind.  This equipage was so elegant
+and rich that it attracted general attention--and who do you suppose
+was seated in that carriage?  My old classmate Saint-Herem, more
+brilliant and handsome than ever!"
+
+"It seems to me he must be a reckless spendthrift."
+
+"Wait till I have finished my story, father.  The equipage stopped
+abruptly, and while the two little pages alighted from their seats to
+hold the horses by the bridles, Saint-Herem leaped from the carriage,
+ran toward me, and fairly embraced me in his joy to find me again after
+so long a separation.  I was dressed like a poor devil of a notary
+student, as I am; with my maroon redingote, my black trousers and laced
+shoes.  You must admit that many _lions of society_ would have shrunk
+from the public recognition of a fellow as shabbily dressed as your
+humble servant.  Florestan was so delighted to see me, however, that he
+paid no heed to my clothes.  As for me, I was very happy and almost
+ashamed of this proof of friendship; for we presented such a contrast
+that everybody stared at us.  Noticing the attention we attracted, my
+friend asked me where I was going and proposed to take me to my office,
+saying it would give us more time to talk.  'What,' I protested, 'enter
+your beautiful carriage with my umbrella, my shabby coat and coarse
+shoes!'  Florestan shrugged his shoulders, took me by the arm, and led
+me to the carriage in spite of my remonstrances; and when he left me at
+the office he made me promise to call on him at his apartments."
+
+"Bah!" ejaculated the old man contemptuously; "it was merely the result
+of a first impulse.  I always distrust people who make extravagant
+displays; and, besides, you are not in a position to mix with _society
+lions_."
+
+"And yet I had to keep my word and breakfast with him one Sunday.  He
+received me like a prince and welcomed me like a friend.  Shortly
+afterward, however, he left Paris, and I have not seen him since."
+
+"How strange that you never told me of this breakfast, Louis!"
+
+"I feared that in your tender solicitude for me you might imagine that
+the sight of Florestan's luxury was capable of turning my head and
+disgust me with my poor condition.  The suspicion I knew would grieve
+you, and I therefore resolved to conceal the fact that once in my life
+I had breakfasted in the style of a Sardanapalus or a Lucullus!"
+
+"I understand the delicacy of your conduct, and am deeply touched by
+it, my boy," said the old man, with emotion; "it is another proof of
+your goodness and generosity of heart.  But listen to me, my son, for
+it is to your kind heart and affection for me that I address myself."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It is something very grave and serious; not only for you, but for me
+also."
+
+The old man's expression was so solemn as he uttered the last words,
+that the son looked up in surprise.
+
+There was a knock at the door at that moment, and the concierge
+entered, saying, "Here is a letter for you, Monsieur Louis."
+
+"Very well," said the young man, taking the letter absent-mindedly, his
+whole attention centered on the grave subject just announced by his
+father.
+
+"If you should go out this evening, Monsieur Louis," added the man, as
+he moved away, "don't forget to stop at my lodge; I have something to
+say to you."
+
+"Very well," replied Louis carelessly, as the man vanished.
+
+Old Richard had recognized Mariette's letter at a first glance, and for
+a moment he was tempted to allow Louis to read it at once; but on
+further reflection he resolved to delay the blow.
+
+"My dear boy," he remarked, "you will have plenty of time to read your
+letter later, and I want you to listen to me just now, for the subject
+is of the highest importance to us both."
+
+"I am at your service, father," replied Louis, laying the letter on the
+table.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"As I have already said," observed old Richard, after a moment of
+silence, "I shall appeal to your kind heart and affection for me.
+
+"You have but to speak, then, my father," rejoined the young man
+dutifully.
+
+"You declared a few moments ago that if you sometimes dreamed of a more
+luxurious existence, it was not for yourself, being entirely satisfied
+with your humble condition, but for me."
+
+"And I repeat it!"
+
+"Well, my child, the realization of your wish depends on yourself only."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Listen to me.  Reverses of fortune, which closely followed your
+mother's death, while you were still a child, robbed me of nearly all I
+possessed, leaving me barely enough to provide for your education.
+When this was all spent I was forced to open a bureau as public
+scribe--"
+
+"True, my good, kind father," said the young man, with emotion; "and
+seeing with what courage and resignation you endured ill-fortune, my
+affection and veneration for you augmented to a degree that falls
+little short of worship."
+
+"This ill-fortune may pursue us, my child; I am growing old, my sight
+is dimmed, and I foresee the sad day when it shall become impossible
+for me to earn our daily bread."
+
+"My father, rely on--"
+
+"On you?  You will do your best, I know, but your own future is
+precarious.  You shall never be more than first or second clerk, for it
+requires money to buy out a notary's office, and I am poor."
+
+"Don't be alarmed, I shall always earn enough for both."
+
+"You are counting without illness or the force of events.  How many
+unexpected circumstances may reduce you to idleness for months!  And
+then how should we live?"
+
+"But, my dear father, if we poor people anticipated all the trouble we
+may be threatened with, we should certainly lose courage.  Let us close
+our eyes to the future, and think of the present only.  Thank God!
+there is nothing to frighten us in that."
+
+"When the future is threatening, it is assuredly wiser to turn the eyes
+away; but when it may be happy and smiling, it is better to face it!"
+
+"I don't deny that."
+
+"Well, I repeat it, our future lies in your hands; it depends entirely
+on you to make it happy and assured."
+
+"Then it is done.  Only tell me how?"
+
+"I shall astonish you greatly.  That poor M. Ramon, with whom you have
+just spent a few days and whom you judge so harshly, is an old friend
+of mine."
+
+"He, your friend?"
+
+"Your visit to Dreux was arranged beforehand between us."
+
+"But those deeds--"
+
+"Your employer obligingly consented to aid us in our little ruse, by
+entrusting you with valueless papers."
+
+"But what was your purpose?"
+
+"Ramon wanted to observe and study your character without your
+knowledge, and he assures me he is quite enchanted with you.  I
+received a long letter from him this morning, in which he speaks of you
+is the highest terms."
+
+"I regret my inability to return the compliment; but why should it
+matter to me whether he thinks well or ill of me?"
+
+"It matters very much, indeed, my boy; for the happy future of which I
+spoke depends entirely on Ramon's opinion of you."
+
+"This is an enigma to me."
+
+"Although not exactly rich, Ramon possesses a modest fortune, augmented
+each day by his economies."
+
+"Humph!  I believe that.  But what you charitably term economy is
+sordid avarice, and nothing else."
+
+"Call it what you will; we shall not bandy words about it.  Owing to
+this avarice, however, Ramon will leave a snug fortune after him--I say
+after him, because he gives nothing away during his life-time."
+
+"I am not surprised at that.  But I really cannot understand what you
+are leading to, father!"
+
+"I feel some hesitation in pursuing; for however false and unjust first
+impressions may be, they are exceedingly tenacious--and you judged
+Mademoiselle Ramon so severely--"
+
+"_Red-nose_!  Say rather that I was very indulgent!"
+
+"You will overcome these prejudices, I am sure.  Believe me,
+Mademoiselle Ramon is one of those persons who improve on better
+acquaintance.  She is a woman of firm character and exemplary virtues.
+What more can be desired in the mother of a family?"
+
+"The mother of a family!" gasped Louis, who until now had not suspected
+the danger that threatened him, but was beginning to conceive a vague
+fear.  "The mother of a family!" he repeated in dismay, "and what
+matters it to me whether Mademoiselle Ramon is or is not fitted to
+become a good mother?"
+
+"It matters more to you than to anyone else."
+
+"To me?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"And why, pray?"
+
+"Because my most cherished, and only desire is, to see you marry
+Mademoiselle Ramon," declared the old man, resolutely.
+
+"Marry--Mademoiselle Ramon!" cried Louis, aghast, shrinking back in his
+chair as if the red-nosed spinster had suddenly appeared before him.
+"I--marry?--"
+
+"Yes, my child," rejoined old Richard, in his most affectionate tone,
+"marry Mademoiselle Ramon, and our future is assured.  We shall live at
+Dreux; Ramon's house is sufficiently large for us all.  He gives his
+daughter no dowry; but we shall live in his home, and his influence
+will obtain a position for you.  At the death of your father-in-law,
+you will inherit a snug fortune--Louis, my beloved son," concluded the
+old man, beseechingly, grasping the young man's hands in his, "consent
+to this marriage and you will make me the happiest man in the world;
+for I can then die without anxiety for your future."
+
+"Ah! my father, you don't realize what you ask!" rejoined Louis
+reproachfully.
+
+"You may say that you feel no love for Mademoiselle Ramon, but mutual
+esteem is sufficient in marriage; and you must admit that she is
+deserving of that esteem.  As to her father, I can understand that you
+may have been shocked at what you term _his avarice_; but this will
+seem less odious to you when you reflect that you shall one day enjoy
+the benefits of this economy.  At heart, Ramon is an excellent man.
+His only ambition is to leave a small fortune to his daughter and her
+husband; and to attain this aim, he practices the strictest economy.
+Do you call that a crime?  Come, my child, give me one word of hope!"
+
+"Father," said the young man, in a constrained voice, "it grieves me to
+disappoint you in your projects, but what you ask is impossible."
+
+"Louis, can you really answer thus, when I appeal to your affection for
+me?"
+
+"To begin with, this marriage will bring you no personal advantage; you
+think of me only."
+
+"What!  do you call it no advantage to live in his house without
+spending a sou?  I tell you it is all arranged; he is to board us
+gratuitously, instead of giving his daughter a dowry."
+
+"Father, as long as there remains a drop of blood in my veins, you
+shall receive charity from no one!  I have already begged you many
+times to give up your occupation, pledging myself to provide for both--"
+
+"But, if you were taken ill, my child, I should be forced to seek
+admittance into the alms-house!"
+
+"I shall not be ill, and you will want for nothing; but if I had the
+misfortune to be that detestable creature's husband, I should die of
+grief."
+
+"Yon cannot be serious, my son."
+
+"Perfectly serious, father.  In your blind affection for me you sought
+to contract an advantageous union, and I am deeply grateful for your
+kind solicitude--but let us dismiss the subject; as I have already
+said, this marriage is impossible."
+
+"Louis!"
+
+"I shall always feel an invincible aversion toward Mademoiselle Ramon,
+and besides, I love a young girl, and she alone shall be my wife."
+
+"Ah! my son, I believed I enjoyed your full confidence, and yet you
+formed this grave resolution without consulting me!"
+
+"I was silent on the subject because the young girl and myself agreed
+to wait a whole year before speaking of marriage, that we might be sure
+we had not mistaken a passing fancy for a real passion.  Thank heaven!
+our love has resisted all trials.  The time of probation expires this
+very day, and to-morrow we shall fix the wedding day.  The young girl I
+love is as poor as ourselves, but she possesses the noblest heart in
+the world.  Never will you find a more devoted daughter, and I shall
+double in zeal and energy to make life agreeable to you.  Believe me,
+nothing is more painful to me than to disagree with you, and I beg you
+to spare me the pain of another refusal.  Do not insist on this union,
+for I shall never resign myself to it, and I swear by my affection for
+you that I shall have no other wife than Mariette Moreau."
+
+The young man uttered these last words so firmly that the father
+decided not to insist at that moment, but merely said in a grieved tone:
+
+"I cannot believe, Louis, that all the reasons I have pleaded in favor
+of this marriage can be without value in your eyes.  I have more
+confidence in your heart than you seem to have yourself, and I am sure
+that reflection will bring you to a wiser decision."
+
+"I shall not change my mind."
+
+"I shall insist no further on the subject, but leave you to your
+reflections.  I give you twenty-four hours to come to a definite
+resolution.  Until then, I shall not say a word of this marriage, and I
+beg of you, on your side, not to trouble me with your love affairs."
+
+"Very well, father; but I assure you that delay--"
+
+"Not a word more on the subject," interrupted the old man, rising.
+
+As he silently paced the room, he cast furtive glances on his son, who
+was thoughtfully gazing at the letter before him, with his head leaning
+on his hands, and his elbows supported by the table.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Having contemplated the letter in silence for some time, without
+recognizing the writing, Louis mechanically tore it open, while old
+Richard still continued his tireless pacing, closely observing his
+every movement.
+
+Suddenly he saw him turn ghastly pale, brush his hand over his brow, as
+if to assure himself he was not the victim of an illusion, then read
+the letter once more, with ever-growing anguish expressed on his
+features.
+
+The letter, written that morning by old Richard, in a disguised hand,
+ran as follows:
+
+"Monsieur Louis:
+
+"I take advantage of your absence to make a confession which I have
+postponed for two whole months, because I feared to cause you grief.
+We must renounce our projects of marriage and never see each other
+again.
+
+"I cannot explain the cause of this change; but, believe me, my
+resolution is well taken.  If I have waited until this day, the _sixth
+of May_, to tell you this, it was because I wanted ample time for
+reflection before announcing my determination.
+
+"Farewell, Monsieur Louis; do not try to see me; it would be useless
+and cause us needless pain.  If, on the contrary, you forget me
+entirely and make no attempt to see me, my happiness, as well as that
+of my god-mother will be assured.
+
+"It is therefore in the name of our happiness and tranquillity that I
+ask you not to seek me.
+
+"You possess such a kind heart that I am sure you will make no attempt
+to grieve me, by insisting on an explanation.  I swear that all is over
+between us and that I love you as a friend only.      MARIETTE MOREAU."
+
+"P. S.  Instead of sending this letter to Dreux, as you instructed me
+to do, I address it to Paris, that you may find it on your return.
+Augustine has gone to the country, so another person writes this for me.
+
+"I have forgotten to say that my godmother's condition is still the
+same."
+
+The reading of this letter plunged Louis into a hopeless stupor.  The
+ingenuity of the style, the correctness of details, the emphasis on the
+date, all convinced him that the lines must have been dictated by
+Mariette.  Having vainly tried to understand the cause of this abrupt
+rupture, he felt his heart invaded with mingled grief, anger,
+resentment, and a deep sentiment of wounded pride.
+
+"Indeed, I shall never attempt to see her again," he murmured,
+unconscious that he spoke aloud.  "She has no need to insist on that
+point with so much obstinacy!"
+
+These words were a relief to the old man, who was closely watching the
+effects of his stratagem, while apparently absorbed in his own
+reflections.
+
+But grief soon took the ascendancy over anger in the young man's heart,
+and his love re-awakened more tender and more passionate than ever; he
+tried to recall the most trifling details of his last interview with
+Mariette, questioned his memory in regard to the last few months of
+their friendship, but could find no trace of growing coldness in their
+relations.  The young girl, on the contrary had never seemed more
+loving, more devoted, or more impatient to unite her life to his.  And
+all these appearances had lied; Mariette was a monster of deceit--she
+whom he had always believed so pure and candid!
+
+No, he could not accept this in silence!  He could no longer endure
+such anguish, without making one effort to unveil the mystery that
+surrounded Mariette's conduct!  The atmosphere of the room stifled him,
+and he resolved to seek the girl at once and force an explanation from
+her lips, even at the risk of prejudicing his cause with Mariette's
+godmother, who was also in ignorance of their love.
+
+Alarmed at the varied emotions reflected on his son's face, old Richard
+thought it time to interfere.
+
+"My dear Louis," he said, closely scrutinizing the young man's troubled
+face, "I believe we had better start for Dreux early tomorrow morning,
+thereby anticipating Ramon's visit to us by twenty-four hours."
+
+"Father!" began Louis, in protestation.
+
+"It will not compromise you, in the least, my son, and if you are
+resolved to deny me the dearest wish of my life, all I ask, as a last
+satisfaction, is to spend a few days with Ramon and his daughter.  You
+shall then be free to act as you please."  Then seeing Louis take up
+his hat, he asked anxiously: "Where are you going?"
+
+"My head aches, and I am going out for a whiff of fresh air," replied
+the young man.
+
+"In mercy don't go out, my boy!" cried the old man, with growing alarm.
+"You look gloomy and out of sorts since you read that letter.  Really,
+you frighten me!"
+
+"You are mistaken.  The letter was absolutely insignificant, I assure
+you," returned Louis, closing the door behind him.
+
+As he was rushing out, however, the concierge hailed him and invited
+him to enter the lodge.
+
+"What is it?" asked Louis, struck by the man's mysterious air.
+
+"Here is a card left for you by a decorated gentleman," explained the
+concierge.  "He came in an elegant carriage, and said this was urgent."
+
+Taking the card, Louis approached the light and read:
+
+"_Commander de La Miraudiere_,
+  "_17 Rue du Mont-Blanc_.
+
+"_Will expect M. Louis Richard at my home, between nine and ten o'clock
+to-morrow morning, to communicate something of grave importance, which
+admits of no delay._"
+
+
+"Commander de La Miraudiere?  I never heard the name," said Louis,
+gazing curiously at the card; then, as he mechanically turned it over,
+his eyes caught sight of these words in pencil:
+
+
+"_Mariette Moreau, with Madame Lacombe, Rue des
+Pretres-Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois._"
+
+
+The commander had noted Mariette's address on the back of his card, and
+unconsciously used the same in writing to Louis to request an interview.
+
+Much astonished and perplexed, the young man vainly asked himself what
+relation could exist between this stranger, whose card he held, and
+Mariette.
+
+"Did the gentleman leave any other message?" he asked the concierge.
+"Did he say anything?"
+
+"Nothing, except that I was to give you the card without your father's
+knowledge."
+
+"Strange," murmured the young man.
+
+"He even gave me forty sous, to make sure I would do the errand."
+
+"Was he young or old?"
+
+"A very handsome man, wearing the ribbon, with a mustache and
+side-whiskers black as ink, and dressed like a prince, not counting his
+elegant cabriolet."
+
+Louis went out more perplexed than ever.  This new incident redoubled
+his anguish; by dint of seeking Mariette's motive for this abrupt
+rupture, he was beginning to feel the sharp pangs of jealousy.  Once
+under this influence, the wildest suspicions and most chimerical fears
+assumed the appearance of reality to his eyes; and he finally asked
+himself if this stranger might not be a rival.  How else was he to
+explain Mariette's relations with a young and handsome young man?
+
+In her letter to him, Mariette begged him not to seek her, as it might
+compromise her own and her god-mother's happiness.  He well knew the
+wretched position of the two women, and Mariette had often confided to
+him the trials she was forced to endure through her god-mother's gloomy
+and harsh character.  A horrible thought now flashed through his head.
+Had not Mariette, perhaps, been driven by misery and the threats of her
+god-mother to listen to the brilliant propositions of this man, whose
+card he now held in his hand?  But, in that case, why should this
+stranger request an interview?  The mystery seemed as impenetrable as
+ever.
+
+Once launched in the dizzy path of jealousy, lovers invariably give
+full sway to their imaginations and entertain the wildest ideas.  Louis
+was no exception to the rule.  In supposing himself supplanted by a
+rival, he found the key to what seemed inexplicable in Mariette's
+letter and in her conduct.  He therefore tenaciously clung to the
+belief of her infidelity, longing for the moment when he might demand
+an explanation from this audacious commander.
+
+He now abandoned his first resolution of seeing Mariette, and retraced
+his steps homeward in a state of deep agitation and painful excitement.
+It was midnight when he again entered their dreary room.  His father
+was anxiously waiting for him; but one glance at his son's gloomy
+countenance reassured the old man.  Feeling certain that the lovers had
+not met and that his stratagem was still undiscovered, he again
+proposed a visit to Dreux on the following day; but Louis threw himself
+dejectedly on his bed, declaring he must have time for reflection
+before taking such a grave step.
+
+After a night of sleepless agony, the young man rose at dawn and
+quietly slipped out of the room, glad to escape his father's
+questioning for a few hours.  With his mind tortured by anxiety and
+misgivings, he turned toward the boulevard to await the hour fixed for
+his interview with Commander de La Miraudiere.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Enveloped in a magnificent dressing gown, his feet encased in
+embroidered slippers, and a fragrant cigar between his lips, Commander
+de La Miraudiere was quietly seated at his desk, with a stack of notes
+and papers before him, when a servant entered and announced: "M.
+Richard."
+
+"Usher M. Richard into the drawing-room, and beg him to wait a moment,"
+he said, rising quickly.  "You may bring him in when I ring."
+
+The servant withdrew, while his master opened a drawer in the safe near
+by, took out twenty-five notes of a thousand francs each, and, placing
+them beside a sheet of stamped paper used in making out deeds, rang the
+bell.
+
+Louis Richard entered, looking gloomy and confused.  His heart throbbed
+violently at the thought that he was perhaps standing in the presence
+of a happy rival, and like all sincere and candid lovers, he greatly
+exaggerated the advantages possessed by the man whom he believed had
+supplanted him in the heart of the woman he loved.  This Commander de
+La Miraudiere, draped in his superb damask gown, and occupying
+magnificent apartments, seemed a most formidable rival, indeed, to
+poor, modest Louis Richard.
+
+"Have I the honor of addressing Monsieur Louis Richard?" said M. de La
+Miraudiere, with his most gracious smile.
+
+"Yes, monsieur," replied Louis, simply.
+
+"Only son of M. Richard, public scribe?"
+
+"My father is a public scribe," returned the young man dryly, believing
+he detected a slight tone of sarcasm in the last words.
+
+"Pardon me for disturbing you," continued the commander, "but it was
+necessary that I should see you alone.  As a private interview seemed
+impossible in your own home, I requested you to come to me."
+
+"And now that I am here, may I inquire what your wishes are?"
+
+"My only wish is to serve you, my dear sir, for I would be only too
+happy to class you as my client."
+
+"I!--your client?  But who are you, monsieur?"
+
+"An old soldier, retired commander, twenty campaigns, ten wounds, and a
+business man, to while away the hours.  I hob-nob with the big
+capitalists, and frequently serve as intermediary between them and the
+sons of good families."
+
+"Really, I fail to see what service you can render me."
+
+"What service, my young friend!--permit an old trooper to give you that
+title--you ask what service I can render you, a poor notary clerk!  You
+vegetate, you share a wretched attic room with your father, and you are
+dressed--heaven knows how!"
+
+"Monsieur!" cried Louis, flushing with indignation.
+
+"My dear young friend, these are facts which I state with regret, with
+indignation, almost.  The devil! a young man like you should spend
+twenty-five to thirty thousand francs per annum, have horses and
+mistresses, and enjoy the luxuries of life!"
+
+"Is this a jest, monsieur?" asked Louis, haughtily.  "If so, I warn you
+that I am not in the humor to endure it."
+
+"Being an old soldier, my young friend, I have already proved my
+bravery and valor on scores of occasions," remarked M. de La
+Miraudiere, boastfully, "and I can therefore allow your hasty words to
+pass unnoticed.  Moreover, I admit that what I have said must sound
+very extraordinary to you."
+
+"Most extraordinary, indeed!"
+
+"Here is something that will convince you that I am speaking seriously,
+my young friend," went on the braggart, designating the bills before
+him.  "Here are twenty-five thousand francs, which I will be most happy
+to place at your disposition, that you may establish yourself as a
+young man of good family; furthermore, you may draw on me for two
+thousand five hundred francs each month.  I offer you these advances
+for five years; we shall count up later."
+
+Louis was gazing at him in consternation, unable to believe his senses.
+
+"You make that offer to me?" he queried, rousing himself from his
+stupefaction.
+
+"Yes, and I am most happy to make it."
+
+"To me?--Louis Richard?"
+
+"To you, Louis Richard."
+
+"Richard is a common name, monsieur; you must take me for some one
+else."
+
+"Not at all!  I know whom I am addressing; Louis Desire Richard, only
+son of Alexander Timoleon Benedict Richard, aged sixty-seven years,
+born at Brie-Comte-Robert; domiciled at 23 Rue de Grenelle, public
+scribe by profession.  As you see, there is no error, my young friend."
+
+"If you know my family so well, monsieur, you must be aware that my
+poverty does not permit me to contract such a loan."
+
+"Your poverty?--poor boy!"
+
+"But--"
+
+"This is abominable, a veritable outrage!" cried the business man in a
+tone of righteous indignation; "to bring up a young man in such error!
+to condemn him to spend the brightest years of his life in slavery! to
+reduce him to a shabby coat, blue stockings and laced shoes!  But,
+happily--there is a Providence, and that Providence you see in me, my
+young friend.  It appears to you under the features of Commander de La
+Miraudiere!"
+
+"I am weary of this by-play, monsieur," returned Louis, impatiently.
+"Pray explain yourself clearly, or I shall go."
+
+"Very well!--You believe your father to be almost in want, do you not?"
+
+"I am not ashamed of our poverty--"
+
+"Oh! candid young man!"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Listen, and you will then bless me as your saviour forever after."
+
+Opening a voluminous register, he read the following statement:
+
+
+  "Record of personal property of Alexandre Timoleon
+    Benedict Richard (information taken by Credit
+    Committee of the Bank of France, May 1, 18--.)
+  Three thousand, nine hundred and twenty
+    shares in the Bank of France (actual value) .. 924,300 frs.
+  Bonds of the Mont-de-Piete ..................... 875,250 frs.
+  Deposit in Bank of France ...................... 259,130 frs.
+      Total ...................................  2,058,680 frs."
+
+
+"As you see, my innocent young friend," continued the pompous
+commander, "the known personal property of your esteemed and honorable
+father amounts to two millions, fifty-eight thousand, six hundred and
+eighty francs, according to official statistics.  But everything leads
+us to believe that, like all misers, your worthy father has a good
+round lump of gold hidden somewhere.  But even placing things at their
+lowest, you see that the author of your being possesses over two
+millions, at least.  As his income is about a hundred thousand _livres
+per annum_, and he does not spend twelve hundred francs, you shall
+enjoy a very large fortune some day; you can, therefore, feel no
+astonishment at my offer."
+
+This revelation paralyzed the young man with amazement.  A thousand
+confused thoughts struggled in his mind, and he stared at his companion
+stupidly, unable to utter a word.
+
+"You are quite dazed, my young friend," pursued the commander.  "I
+suppose you imagine you must be dreaming!"
+
+"Indeed, I scarcely know whether to believe you or not," said Louis,
+still sadly bewildered.
+
+"Do as Saint Thomas did, my young friend: touch these twenty-five
+thousand franc notes; it will give you faith.  The capitalists whom I
+represent, are not men who throw away money; and here, I may add, that
+they make these advances at the rate of _eight per cent._ the
+commission for my obliging services being _seven per cent._ more.  You
+are too much of a gentleman to bargain over such trifles; besides, both
+capital and interest will barely reach half your father's yearly
+income.  Even while spending at the rate of fifty thousand francs per
+annum, you will be economizing; yet, it will enable you to await the
+supreme hour patiently--I mean the hour when the old man--you
+understand!  Moreover, as the said old man might be astonished at your
+high way of living, I have thought of a most ingenious explanation.
+You will hold a ticket in a lottery and presumably draw the capital
+prize, a diamond which you will sell for eight or nine thousand francs.
+This you will be supposed to have entrusted to a friend who, in his
+turn, invested the money in a magnificent enterprise, paying three
+hundred per cent. per annum.  Thanks to this stratagem, you can spend
+your twenty-five to thirty thousand francs right under the paternal
+nose without awakening any suspicions.  Now, young man, was I
+presumptuous in affecting providential airs toward you?  But why this
+gloom and silence?  I, who expected you to burst with delight, to shout
+with joy, to cut capers, and give vent to many other manifestations
+totally excusable in the first moments of rejoicing over your sudden
+transformation from a poor notary clerk into a millionaire!  Why don't
+you answer me?  Heavens!  I fear his sudden happiness has bereft him of
+his senses!"
+
+This revelation, which would doubtless have thrown anyone else into a
+state of delirious joy, caused the most painful emotion to Louis
+Richard.  To begin with, the long dissimulation and distrust shown by
+his father in leaving him in ignorance of his wealth, wounded him to
+the heart; and then--this was the most cruel thought to him--he
+remembered that he could never share these riches with Mariette; that
+by her heartless desertion she had deprived him of the pleasure of
+changing her wretched, joyless existence into a life of luxury and
+happiness.
+
+This reflection revived his bitter grief; and, forgetting everything
+but the explanation he had sworn to demand from this man before him, he
+drew the offending visiting card from his pocket, saying haughtily:
+
+"You left this card for me at my home, monsieur?"
+
+"Certainly, my young friend, but--"
+
+"Can you explain, monsieur, how the name and address of Mademoiselle
+Mariette Moreau came to be scribbled on it?" continued Louis, glaring
+at him.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the amazed commander.
+
+"I wish to know how Mademoiselle Mariette Moreau's address comes to be
+on this card!" repeated Louis coldly.
+
+"The devil! he must have lost his senses!" said the usurer.  "My dear
+young fellow, I speak to you of millions, of thirty thousand francs
+yearly, and you answer by speaking of--grisettes!"
+
+"When I ask a question, monsieur," thundered Louis, "I expect a reply!"
+
+"And you assume such a tone with me, my young friend!"
+
+"If my tone does not suit you, I cannot help it."
+
+"The deuce, my young fellow!" cried the usurer, fiercely.  "But, bah!"
+he added, twirling his black moustache caressingly between his fingers,
+"I have proved my bravery scores of times--I, an old soldier,
+perforated with bullets, can pass such words unnoticed.  My dear
+client, the name and address of that little girl were found on my card,
+because I wrote them down that I might not forget where to find her."
+
+"You know Mademoiselle Mariette then?"
+
+"Most assuredly!"
+
+"You court her?"
+
+"Once in a while."
+
+"And you hope?--"
+
+"Much."
+
+"Monsieur, I forbid you to ever set foot in her home again!"
+
+"So I have found a rival!" said the usurer to himself.  "Ah! I now
+understand the girl's refusal.  I must sound him, drive him to
+jealousy, push him into a trap.  The girl is worth having, and I must
+check this passionate youth."
+
+"My dear sir," he asked aloud, "when I am forbidden to do a thing, I
+consider it my first duty to do that very thing."
+
+"That remains to be seen!"
+
+"Listen, young man; I have fought fifty-seven duels, and can therefore
+dispense with the fifty-eighth.  I prefer to reason with you.  Allow me
+one question: You have just returned from a journey?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"You were absent several days, and have not seen Mariette since your
+return?"
+
+"But--"
+
+"My dear young friend, you only share the lot of many others.  Mariette
+knows nothing of your wealth; so when I offered her enough to turn the
+head of any starved working girl, she accepted with delight.  Her
+godmother, who is also half starved, has a natural inclination for the
+luxuries of this life, and as the absent ones are always in the
+wrong--you understand--"
+
+"Oh, my God! is it true then!" moaned Louis piteously, his wrath giving
+way to hopeless despair.
+
+"Had I known I was entering in competition with a future client I would
+have abandoned the game," resumed the usurer; "but it is too late now.
+Besides, my young friend, there is nothing to cry about.  This girl was
+much too inexperienced for you; you would have had to form her, while
+there are many charming women ready to drop in your arms.  I would
+particularly recommend a certain Madame de Saint-Hildebrande--"
+
+"Wretch!" cried Louis indignantly, grasping him by the collar and
+shaking him vigorously.  "You miserable scoundrel!"
+
+"Sir, you will give me satisfaction for this--!" gasped the enraged
+commander.
+
+The door opened abruptly and the two adversaries turned their heads
+simultaneously as a gay burst of laughter rang through the room.
+
+"Saint-Herem!" exclaimed Louis, recognizing his old friend.
+
+"You here!" cried Florestan de Saint-Herem, grasping the young man's
+hand and gazing curiously into his pale face.
+
+"May the devil take him for coming in at this moment!" muttered the
+usurer between his clenched teeth, as he readjusted the collar of his
+dressing-gown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+Florestan de Saint-Herem was a man of thirty, at the most, with
+handsome features and a commanding, elegant figure.  His physiognomy
+expressed both intelligence and wit, but often wore a mask of
+supercilious impertinence when addressing persons of the same stamp as
+the usurer.
+
+The first moment of surprise and greeting over, the actors in the
+foregoing scene resumed their antagonistic attitude toward each other.
+Louis, still pale with indignation, glared at his adversary fiercely,
+while the latter faced him defiantly.
+
+"To dare raise a hand on me!--an old soldier!" cried the commander,
+advancing threateningly toward Louis.  "This will not pass unpunished,
+Monsieur Richard!"
+
+"As you wish, Monsieur de La Miraudiere," returned Louis.
+
+"Monsieur de La Miraudiere!" repeated Florestan, with a sarcastic
+laugh.  "What! do you take this fellow seriously, my good Louis?  Do
+you believe in his military title, his cross, his campaigns, his
+wounds, his duels, and his sonorous name of de La Miraudiere?"
+
+"Your jests are entirely out of place!" cried the usurer, flushing
+angrily, "and I will not endure them in my own house, Monsieur de
+Saint-Herem!--Indeed I will not, my dear fellow."
+
+"His name is Jerome Porquin, my dear Louis," sneered Saint-Herem, "and
+it seems admirably chosen, does it not?"  Then, turning to the crushed
+usurer, he added in a tone that admitted of no retort: "Monsieur
+Porquin, this is the second time I am forced to forbid you to address
+me as "_your dear fellow_."  With me it is a different matter; I have
+bought and paid for the right of calling you my _dear_, my enormously
+_dear_, my too _dear_ Monsieur Porquin, for you have swindled me
+outrageously and cost me a good round sum!"
+
+"Sir, I will not suffer this!" cried the wrathful usurer.
+
+"Whence comes this timid sensitiveness on the part of M. Porquin?"
+asked Florestan, derisively.  "What has happened?  Ah!  I see.  This
+_dear_ M. Porquin does not enjoy having his lies and vain pretentious
+unmasked in your presence, Louis.  Well, I will tell you who M. de La
+Miraudiere really is.  He once served the rations in the army, and in
+that capacity went to Madrid during the last war.  This is the only
+service he has ever seen, and he was discharged from that for
+dishonesty.  He has never fought a duel for, to begin with, he is too
+cowardly, and then he knows well that a gentleman would receive a
+challenge from him with contempt; and if driven to extremities by his
+insolence, he would simply teach him a lesson with his walking-stick."
+
+"When you stand in need of me you treat me with more delicacy!" sneered
+the usurer.
+
+"When I need your services I pay for them; and as I know your
+unscrupulous character, it is my duty to warn M. Richard, whose friend
+I have the honor to be.  You are doubtless trying to entice him into
+your net."
+
+"Ah! this is the reward I get for my services!" cried M. Porquin,
+bitterly.  "I reveal a secret of the highest importance to your friend,
+and--"
+
+"I now understand your object in coming to me," interrupted Louis,
+dryly.  "I owe you no thanks for the service you have rendered me--if
+it is a service," he concluded sadly.
+
+The usurer had no intention of giving up his prey without a struggle,
+however, and turning to Florestan, with the same ease as if they had
+been on the most friendly terms, he said conciliatingly:
+
+"M. Louis Richard can tell you what conditions I proposed and under
+what circumstances I made him this offer; you will then be better able
+to judge if my demands were exorbitant.  Furthermore, if I disturb you
+in your conversation, gentlemen, you may enter the drawing-room.  If M.
+Richard wishes to consult you on the subject, I shall await his
+decision here."
+
+"This is the most intelligent phrase you have uttered yet," returned
+Saint-Herem, taking Louis' arm to lead him into the adjoining room.
+"And when we get through, I shall tell you the object of my visit.  Or,
+rather, I will tell you now.  I must have two hundred louis this
+evening.  Here are the securities; examine them at your leisure."
+
+Drawing a bundle of papers from his pocket, he tossed them carelessly
+toward the usurer and left the room with his friend.
+
+The haughty brutality with which Florestan had unmasked Porquin had
+proved a new blow to Louis Richard.  The thought that Mariette had
+sacrificed him for such a wretch, filled his heart with bitterness and
+resentment, and, unable to control his emotion longer, he burst into
+tears the moment he found himself alone with his friend.
+
+"Ah!  Florestan, I am unhappy!" he sobbed, as he clasped his
+companion's hand.
+
+"I have no doubt of it, my poor Louis," said Saint-Herem
+sympathizingly, "for to place yourself in the clutches of such a rascal
+as Porquin, is to sell yourself to the devil!  But tell me what has
+happened?  You have always been good and industrious, I know, but you
+may have contracted some debt or committed some slight folly.  What may
+seem enormous to you, may be only a trifle to me.  I shall receive two
+hundred louis from this Arab to-night; you have but to say the word and
+they are yours.  I can turn to someone else!  Two hundred louis ought
+to cover the debts of a notary clerk---come, must you have more?  Then
+we shall raise more; but in heaven's name don't put yourself in the
+toils of this scoundrel!"
+
+This generous offer filled Louis' heart with such sweet consolation
+that for the moment he forgot his sorrows.
+
+"My dear Florestan," he said gratefully, "you cannot imagine how this
+proof of friendship on your part comforts and consoles me."
+
+"You accept, then?"
+
+"No."
+
+"What?"
+
+"I have no need of your good services.  This usurer, who was a total
+stranger to me, wrote to me requesting an interview; and he offers to
+lend me more money in one year than I have spent in all my life."
+
+"He offers you that!  Why, the rascal never advances a sou without the
+best securities.  People of his stamp consider neither honor, probity,
+nor industry; and I was not aware that you had expectations."
+
+"You are mistaken, Florestan; my father is worth over two millions."
+
+"Your father!" exclaimed Saint-Herem in amazement.  "Your father rich!"
+
+"This usurer discovered his secret; how, I cannot say."
+
+"And so he offered his services.  Well, you may be sure his information
+is correct, for he advances nothing on doubtful security."
+
+"I believe it," rejoined Louis sadly.
+
+"My dear Louis, one might think you had made some unfortunate
+discovery.  What is it?  Are you unhappy?--and why, pray?"
+
+"Ah! my friend, don't scoff at me.  I love, and have been deceived."
+
+"You have a rival?"
+
+"And that rival is this wretch!"
+
+"Porquin?--nonsense; what makes you imagine such an absurdity?"
+
+"I had some suspicions, and then he assured me he had been accepted."
+
+"A fine authority, upon my word!  He lies, I am sure of it."
+
+"He is rich, Florestan; and the woman I loved and still love in spite
+of myself, is poor.  She has endured the most cruel misery for years."
+
+"The devil!"
+
+"Besides this, she is the only support of a crippled old woman.  This
+man's offers dazzled the poor child; and like so many others, she
+succumbed through misery.  What good is a fortune now, when my only
+desire was to share it with Mariette?"
+
+"My dear Louis, I know you too well to believe you could have loved a
+woman unworthy of your affections."
+
+"For a whole year Mariette gave me abundant proofs of a sincere
+affection; then yesterday, without warning, a letter came announcing
+the sudden rupture--"
+
+"A woman who loved a poor man like you for a whole year, does not yield
+to an old rascal like Porquin in one day.  I tell you he lies!"  And to
+Louis' great astonishment, Saint-Herem called aloud, "Hi, there! de la
+Miraudiere!"
+
+"Florestan! what are you doing?" remonstrated Louis, as the usurer
+appeared.
+
+"Monsieur de La Miraudiere," observed Saint-Herem, with his habitual
+supercilious air, "there seems to exist some slight confusion in your
+mind in regard to a respectable young girl, who, according to you, has
+been seduced by your wit, your personal charms and excellent manners,
+still more enchanced by that gold which you so honorably grasp.  Now,
+my worthy commander, will you do me the pleasure to speak the truth?
+If not, I shall know how to deal with you."
+
+"I deeply regret having jested on a subject which seems to annoy M.
+Richard," responded Porquin, deeming it better policy to sacrifice a
+fancy which stood little chance of being gratified, than to run the
+risk of losing so promising a client as Louis.
+
+"You may perhaps be able to explain how the idea of this jest--which,
+by the way, I should call a base calumny--entered your head?" pursued
+Florestan.
+
+"Nothing more simple, monsieur: I saw Mademoiselle Mariette Moreau in
+the workshop, and was struck with her beauty.  I then procured her
+address, visited her home, where I found her godmother, and proposed--"
+
+"Enough, sir! enough!" cried Louis indignantly.
+
+"Permit me to add, my dear client," resumed Porquin, imperturbably,
+"that the said godmother refused my offers point-blank, and that
+Mademoiselle Mariette indignantly showed me the door.  As you see, I am
+perfectly frank, and hope this sincere avowal will win me the
+confidence of M. Richard, who will not fail to accept my services.  As
+for you, Monsieur de Saint-Herem, I have examined your securities and
+will place the two hundred _louis_ in your hands this evening--and now
+that you have learned the conditions I have proposed to your friend, I
+am sure you must consider them reasonable."
+
+"I don't want your money," cried Louis.  "Do you believe me capable of
+discounting my father's death?"
+
+"But, my dear client, allow me--"
+
+"Come, Florestan, let us go," interrupted Louis, "this room stifles me."
+
+"My dear Porquin," remarked Saint-Herem, as he followed his friend to
+the door, "as you see, there are still honest sons and daughters
+living.  I will not say: 'May this serve you as a lesson or an
+example,' for you are too old a sinner to reform; but I sincerely hope
+this double disappointment will prove a most disagreeable pill to
+swallow."
+
+"Ah! my dear friend, you have relieved me of a cruel doubt," said
+Louis, gratefully, when they had reached the street.  "I am now certain
+that Mariette never lowered herself to this wretch--but the fact still
+remains that she has broken our engagement."
+
+"Did she tell you so?"
+
+"She has written or, rather, made someone else write."
+
+"Made someone else write?"
+
+"Ah! you will laugh at me--the poor girl I love can neither read nor
+write."
+
+"What a happy mortal you are!  You are spared the lengthy epistles I am
+forced to endure from a little shop girl whom I have robbed from a
+jealous banker.  I amuse myself by making her the rage, and enjoy the
+poor creature's ecstasies immensely!  It is so delightful to make
+others happy.  Her grammar is outrageous, however.  Ah! my friend, what
+orthography! it is of the antediluvian, innocent style; such as Mother
+Eve must have used--but if your Mariette cannot write, who knows but
+her secretary may have misinterpreted her thoughts?"
+
+"With what object?"
+
+"I don't know.  But why not have an explanation with her?"
+
+"She has begged me, in the name of her future happiness, not to see her
+again."
+
+"Well, now that you are a prospective millionaire, I would advise you
+to see her in the name of that very future happiness."
+
+"You are right, Florestan; I shall see her, and if this cruel mystery
+can be explained, if I find her as in the past, affectionate and
+devoted, what bliss shall be mine!  Poor child, her life has been one
+of work and misery; but she will now find comfort and rest, for my
+father shall consent, and--Ah! my God!--"
+
+"What is it?" asked Florestan, anxiously.
+
+"I have forgotten to tell you that my father wishes me to marry your
+cousin."
+
+"What cousin?"
+
+"Mademoiselle Ramon."
+
+"You don't mean it?"
+
+"I have just returned from Dreux, where I met her; and I must admit
+that, even if I were not in love with Mariette, I could never marry
+such a woman--"
+
+"My uncle must be still wealthy, then, though he announced his ruin
+many years ago," interrupted Saint-Herem.  "It is evident that a
+marriage with my cousin would be advantageous to you, or your father
+would never propose it, believe me."
+
+"My father explained our poverty in the same way; he pretended to have
+lost his money many years ago."
+
+"Ah, my worthy uncle, I knew you to be disagreeable and unendurable!"
+resumed Florestan; "but I did not believe you capable of such
+superiority of conception; from this day I esteem and venerate you.  I
+am not your heir, it is true; but the thought of a millionaire uncle is
+a pleasant one, nevertheless.  In moments of trouble we dream of him,
+we form all sorts of affectionate hypotheses, even revel in thoughts of
+apoplexy and long for cholera, that Providence of impecunious heirs,
+which appears like a good fairy, robed in rosy hues."
+
+"My dear Florestan," laughed Louis, "though I wish no one harm, I admit
+that I would be glad to see your uncle's fortune fall into your hands
+instead of going to his detestable daughter.  You would know how to
+enjoy the money at least; and, with such wealth, I am sure you would--"
+
+"Contract debts, my dear fellow," interrupted his friend, majestically.
+
+"What! with that immense fortune--"
+
+"I would most assuredly contract debts, I tell you."
+
+"With two or three millions?"
+
+"With ten, or twenty millions!  My system is similar to that of the
+State: the higher the debt of a country, the higher stands her credit;
+therefore, what is credit?--wealth!  This is elementary, not counting
+that it involves a high question of moral philosophy.  But I shall
+explain my financial and philosophical ideas on a more favorable
+occasion.  Go to Mariette, and report to me later.  As for me, I have
+promised to take my little shop-girl out on a new saddle-horse which,
+by the way, cost me an outrageous price.  Now don't fail to come or
+write to me; whatever happens, I want to share your joy or sorrow.  But
+jump in and let me take you there."
+
+"Thank you, I prefer to walk; it will give me time to think over all
+that has happened and what attitude I should assume toward my father,
+in view of this singular revelation."
+
+"Good-bye, then, my dear Louis; don't forget that I shall expect you
+before the day is over," said Saint-Herem, jumping into his brougham,
+while Louis turned toward Mariette's home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A sad picture met the young man's eyes, as he paused for a moment on
+the threshold of the room occupied by Mariette and her godmother.
+Lying on a thin mattress in a corner of the room was the young girl,
+seemingly unconscious; her features were of a deathly pallor and
+painfully contracted, and traces of abundant tears stained her marble
+cheeks; one hand lay listlessly at her side, while in the other she
+convulsively clutched the envelope containing the debris of Louis'
+letter.  Kneeling by the bedside, her harsh, sarcastic features
+softened by an expression of touching grief and cruel anxiety, Mme.
+Lacombe was supporting Mariette's head with her mutilated arm, while
+with the other hand she was endeavoring to force a few drops of water
+through the livid lips.
+
+At the sight of a stranger standing in the doorway, however, her
+features resumed the habitual expression of harshness and moroseness.
+
+"What do you want?" she asked roughly.  "Why do you come in without
+rapping at the door?--I don't know you!--who are you?"
+
+Taking no notice of these many questions, Louis rushed to the bedside
+and threw himself on his knees beside the unconscious girl, crying: "My
+God! what has happened?--Mariette, Mariette, speak to me!"
+
+"So you are Louis Richard?" exclaimed the old woman, her eyes flashing
+angrily as she gazed at the young man.
+
+"Yes; but in heaven's name, tell me what has happened to Mariette!"
+
+"You have killed her!"
+
+"I--great heavens!"
+
+"And when she is dead, you will provide for me, I suppose?" sneered
+Mme. Lacombe.
+
+"Dead!--Mariette dead!" gasped Louis.  "It is impossible!--But we must
+summon a physician, do something--her hands are icy--Mariette!
+Mariette!" he called wildly.  "My God! my God! she does not hear me!"
+
+"And this is all the fault of that letter of yours, you impudent
+scoundrel!" interposed the old woman fiercely.
+
+"My letter?--what letter?" he asked in astonishment.
+
+"Ah, yes; you will lie about it and deny the whole thing now, of
+course!  But last night the poor child broke down in despair and
+confessed the whole thing to me."
+
+"But what did she have to confess?"
+
+"That she loved you and you had deserted her for another--"
+
+"But on the contrary I wrote to Mariette that--"
+
+"You lie!" cried the old woman vehemently.  "I tell you she read your
+letter; there it is now, clutched in her fingers!  Heavens! what a
+flood of tears she shed over that rag!  Go out of my sight, you
+worthless rake!  We were very stupid indeed to refuse the good offer
+made to us.  Yet, I told Mariette virtue brought little reward in this
+world.  And now she is dying, and I am out into the street, without
+fire or shelter, without bread or anything, for everything will go for
+back rent.  Happily," she added, with a grim smile, "I have still a
+small measure of charcoal left--and charcoal is the deliverance of poor
+people from misery."
+
+"My God! this is horrible!" moaned Louis, unable to restrain his tears.
+"I swear that we are the victims of some terrible mistake,
+madame--Mariette!  Mariette! speak to me!--It is I--Louis!"
+
+"Do you want to kill her on the spot?" cried the exasperated woman,
+trying to push him away.   "If she recovers consciousness, the sight of
+you will finish her."
+
+"Heaven be praised!" murmured Louis, resisting the woman's efforts and
+bending over the girl.  "See, her hands are relaxing and her eyes
+opening--Mariette! it is I, Louis! do you hear me?"
+
+The girl's eyes roamed around the room for a moment, then slowly turned
+on the young man, who still leaned anxiously over her.  Soon an
+expression of joyful surprise spread itself over her pale features and
+she attempted to raise her head, supporting herself on her elbow.
+
+"Louis!" she murmured, feebly.  "Ah!  I thought I would never see you
+again--"
+
+Then as the sad reality returned to her mind, she threw herself in Mme.
+Lacombe's arms and burst into tears.
+
+"Ah! godmother," she sobbed, "he comes to say farewell--it is all over!"
+
+"There now, didn't I tell you this would finish her!" cried Mme.
+Lacombe, fiercely.  "Go, I say! and never let me see your face again!"
+
+"Mariette! in mercy listen to me!" pleaded Louis.  "I did not come to
+say farewell, but to tell you that I love you more than ever."
+
+"Heavens! can it be true?" murmured the girl, starting up.
+
+"We have been the victims of some error, Mariette," continued the young
+man.  "I have never ceased to love you for a single moment; no, never.
+During my absence, I had but one thought, one desire; it was to see you
+again and fix the day of our marriage, as I told you in my letter--"
+
+"Your letter!" interrupted the girl, sadly.  "Have you already
+forgotten what you wrote, Louis?  Here--read it."
+
+"He can deny his own writing, of course," growled Mme. Lacombe, as the
+young man hastily placed the torn pieces together; "and you'll be
+stupid enough to believe him."
+
+"This is what I wrote, Mariette," said Louis, when he had succeeded in
+his difficult task.
+
+
+"My Dear Mariette:
+
+"I shall be with you the day following the receipt of this letter.
+What I have suffered during this short separation proves that I cannot
+live without you.  Thank God, the day of our union is fast approaching.
+Tomorrow is the _sixth of May_, remember.  I shall speak to my father
+the moment I reach home, and I am sure he will not refuse his consent.
+
+"Farewell, then, until day after to-morrow, my darling Mariette.  I
+love you madly, or wisely, rather; for I was wise to seek and find
+happiness in a heart like yours.
+
+"Yours forever and ever.      LOUIS."
+
+"I write these few lines only, because I shall be in Paris almost as
+soon as my letter; and then, it is always painful to think that other
+eyes see what I write for you only.  Were it not for this, how many
+things might I not say!"
+
+
+Mariette was so astounded that she could find no word to say.
+
+"I cannot understand how this letter could have produced such a sad
+effect on you?" said Louis, much perplexed.
+
+"Is that really what the letter says?" asked the amazed girl.
+
+"Certainly.  Here, Madame Lacombe, read it," suggested Louis, placing
+the fragments before her.
+
+"You know very well that I can't read," replied the old woman, roughly.
+"How is it that the contrary was told Mariette?"
+
+"Who read it for you, Mariette?" asked Louis.
+
+"The public scribe," she informed him.
+
+"A public scribe!" exclaimed the young man, a fearful suspicion
+flashing through his mind.  "In mercy, explain yourself!"
+
+"There is very little to explain, my dear Louis.  I went in search of a
+public scribe, at the _Charnier des Innocents_, and dictated a letter
+for you to a very kind old gentleman.  He was so kind, indeed, that he
+only charged me ten sous, although he was obliged to write it twice,
+having spilt the bottle of ink on the first copy as he was preparing to
+address it to Dreux.  When I reached home again, I found this letter
+from you; then I went back to the public scribe--for he had shown much
+interest in me--and he read it for me.  According to him, the letter
+said that we should never meet again; that your father's future
+happiness and your own depended on our separation, and that--"  But she
+could say no more, and burst into tears.
+
+Louis understood it all, however, from the chance meeting of Mariette
+with his father, to the stratagem of the latter to deceive them both.
+This abuse of confidence overwhelmed him with such grief and shame,
+that he dared not admit the tie of relationship existing between
+himself and the public scribe, but sought another plausible explanation
+of this deceit and treachery.
+
+"Notwithstanding his apparent good nature and benevolence, this old
+rascal must have been trying to amuse himself at your expense, my poor
+Mariette," said the young man.  "He read you just the contrary of what
+I had written."
+
+"Oh! how could he be so cruel!" cried the girl, clasping her two hands
+together.  "He appeared so good, and expressed his sympathy so kindly
+for poor creatures like me, who can neither read nor write."
+
+"One thing is evident, my dear Mariette, he certainly deceived you."
+
+"But did you receive my letter at Dreux?"
+
+"It must have reached that city after I had left it," he said,
+unwilling to admit that it had been addressed to Paris.  "But never
+mind it now," he added, anxious to drop a conversation which pained him
+so deeply; "we are happy and--"
+
+"Yes, you are happy enough," put in Mme. Lacombe, "but what about me?"
+
+"What do you mean, godmother?" asked Mariette.
+
+"I mean that I will never consent to such a marriage," she said harshly.
+
+"But my dear madame--" began Louis.
+
+"Tut, tut, tut, soft words won't blind me, young man;" she interrupted
+roughly.  "If you are the son of a public writer, you are as penniless
+as Mariette; and two miseries united in marriage are worth three single
+ones.  My goddaughter has enough of me to support, without a troop of
+famished children."
+
+"But, my dear godmother--" protested the girl.
+
+"Don't bother me!" she retorted angrily.  "I know your plans; you
+simply want to rid yourself of me and leave me in the gutter to starve."
+
+"How can you believe such a thing!" cried Mariette, reproachfully, her
+eyes full of tears.
+
+"Your fears are groundless, I assure you," Louis hastened to say.  "I
+have just discovered that my father is immensely wealthy, but for
+reasons of his own, he has kept the matter a secret until now."
+
+Mariette gazed at Louis with an air of mingled astonishment and delight
+at this unexpected information.  Then she smiled through her tears and
+said, with a shade of defiance in her gentle voice: "You see,
+godmother, that the picture is not as dark as you painted it, we are
+quite able to take care of you as well as ourselves."
+
+"You are quite ready to fall into the trap, of course," rejoined the
+old woman, with a sarcastic laugh.
+
+"But, godmother--"
+
+"Don't you see that he is inventing those lies to obtain my consent to
+your marriage--"
+
+"Madame, I swear--"
+
+"And I tell you there is no truth in it; or, if you are rich, you don't
+want Mariette.  A rich man would never be stupid enough to marry a poor
+girl who can neither read nor write."
+
+"You are mistaken," said Louis, with dignity; "the son of a rich man
+does not break the word given in his days of poverty, when his life's
+happiness depends on that word--"
+
+"Bah! mere phrases and words!" interrupted the woman sharply.  "Rich or
+poor, you shall never have Mariette, until you have assured me a
+living.  I don't ask much; only six hundred francs a year; but I must
+have it in money, with a contract deposited in the hands of a reliable
+notary."
+
+"Ah! godmother, why should you distrust Louis so?" protested Mariette
+tearfully.
+
+"My dear child, I know all about these fine promises," declared Mme.
+Lacombe.  "He will promise anything beforehand; then, when he is sure
+of you, out goes the old cripple.  With you, Mariette, I have nothing
+to fret about.  I may be a heavy burden, but you are a good girl and
+stand in awe of me.  Once married, however, you will both defy me and
+throw me out of the house.  What will become of me, then?  Is it my
+fault if I am a cripple?  No! no!  I tell you there shall be no
+marriage unless an income of six hundred francs is placed in the hands
+of a notary!"
+
+While giving away to these bitter recriminations, the poor creature
+rocked to and fro, looking furtively at the two young people and
+watching the effect of her words.
+
+"Poor Mariette," thought Louis, "how she must have suffered!  To think
+of so much affection and devotion rewarded with so much ingratitude!"
+
+"Madame," he said aloud, when she had ceased speaking, "you may rest
+assured that neither Mariette nor myself will ever forget that you have
+been as a mother to her; and you shall always be treated with the
+consideration that you deserve--I swear it."
+
+"Thank you, Louis!" cried the girl gratefully, "I am glad to see that
+you share my sentiments for my poor godmother, who has indeed been as a
+mother to me."
+
+"Don't you see that he is laughing at us!" exclaimed the old woman
+harshly.  "He has no intention of marrying you and giving me a pension,
+I can tell you.  If he is really rich, he will cajole you and entice
+you into a trap; then some fine morning, you will hear of his marriage
+with another woman--go, I say, and never set foot in this house again!"
+
+"Madame," said Louis, "I shall come with my father to beg the honor of
+Mariette's hand in marriage, and will at the same time inform you of
+the advantages I shall be able to give you."
+
+"Yes, yes, those fine propositions will come when I am in my grave,"
+she muttered, as she climbed into her bed and turned her face to the
+wall.
+
+"It shall be no later than to-morrow," declared Louis.  "Good-bye,
+Mariette.  I shall call with my father to-morrow."
+
+"Can it really be true that, after so much sorrow, we should at last
+know happiness--happiness forever," murmured the young girl, as Louis
+clasped her hand tenderly in his.
+
+"Will you ever get done? you are driving me wild with your happiness!"
+came sharply from the bed.  "Go, and leave me in peace!--and don't you
+dare to move from the room, Mariette!  You are dying to go down with
+that gay deceiver, I know; but when I say _no_, I mean _no_!"
+
+The young couple exchanged one last loving glance and, with a
+whispered: "Good-bye, my darling," Louis was gone, while Mariette
+returned slowly to the bedside of her godmother.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Louis at once proceeded to his father's business place, anxious to get
+over the inevitable explanation which had become necessary between
+them.  But to his great astonishment and alarm, he found the door and
+shutters still closed, and was informed by the neighbors that the old
+man had not made his appearance that day.  This break in his regular
+habits seemed so unusual and inexplicable, that the young man felt a
+vague uneasiness invading him as he hurried toward home, and all sorts
+of wild conjectures flashed through his mind.  He soon reached the Rue
+de Grenelle, however, and was running up the first flight of stairs
+when the concierge called him from his door.
+
+"Monsieur Louis," he said, "your father went out a couple of hours ago
+and left a letter for you.  I was to take it to your office if you did
+not return before two o'clock."
+
+The young man grasped the letter and tore it open.  It ran thus:
+
+"My dear child:
+
+"I have just received a few lines from my friend Ramon, informing me
+that he and his daughter will arrive in Paris to-day.
+
+"As he has never traveled in a railway train and anticipates much
+pleasure in that mode of conveyance, he will stop at Versailles, where
+he begs us to meet him.  We shall visit the palace, and return together
+by the last train.
+
+"I shall wait for you at the Hotel du Reservoir; but if you are late,
+you can join us at the palace.  Remember, that this interview with
+Mademoiselle Ramon will compromise you in no way.  My only desire is
+that you should take advantage of this opportunity to study that young
+person's character and see the injustice of your groundless prejudices.
+You will moreover understand that, whatever may be your projects, it
+would be most ungracious on your part to fail at a rendezvous given by
+one of my oldest and dearest friends.
+
+"Your father, who loves you deeply, and whose sole desire is your
+happiness.
+
+"A. RICHARD."
+
+
+Notwithstanding his habitual deference to the wishes of his father,
+Louis thought it unnecessary to go to Versailles and face Mademoiselle
+Ramon a second time; so he hastened to his employer's office instead,
+and resumed his usual work, undeterred by the astounding revelation of
+his father's wealth.  Owing to the numerous distractions caused by the
+various events of the day, however, it was late when he finished his
+day's task and put away his papers.
+
+He had just closed his desk and was taking his hat from its accustomed
+peg, when one of his comrades burst into the room and cried excitedly:
+"My God! what a terrible thing!"
+
+"What is it," asked the clerks in chorus.
+
+"I have just met a friend on his way back from the Versailles station--"
+
+"Versailles station!" echoed Louis, with a sudden start.  "Well, what
+has happened?"
+
+"A frightful accident!"
+
+"Great Heavens!" cried Louis, turning deathly pale.  "But go on."
+
+"The return train to Paris ran off the track, throwing the cars in a
+heap; and it is reported that all the passengers have either been
+crushed or burnt to death, and--"
+
+But Louis stopped to hear no more.  Rushing out, bareheaded as he was,
+he dashed down the street to the first corner, where he leaped into a
+cab, crying: "Twenty francs if you take me to the Versailles station at
+breakneck speed--and from there somewhere else--I don't know where; but
+in mercy, go!"
+
+"Which side of the river, monsieur," asked the coachman, as he lashed
+his horse.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"There are two stations.  One on the right, the other on the left bank."
+
+"I want to go where that terrible accident occurred."
+
+"This is the first I hear of it, monsieur."
+
+Louis was forced to return to the office for information; but he found
+the place already deserted, and returned to the cab in despair.
+
+"I have just learned it was on the left bank," the coachman informed
+him from his seat.
+
+"To the left bank then!" he ordered, sinking back on the cushions with
+a moan.
+
+There he learned that the sad news was unfortunately but too true, and
+was directed how to reach the scene of the accident.
+
+It was nightfall when he finally reached Bas-Meudon; and, guided by the
+flames of the burning debris, he soon found himself on the sinister
+spot, where he spent the night in a fruitless search for the charred
+remains of his father among the mass of crushed and burnt flesh piled
+on the roadside or pinioned in the wreck.  Worn out in body and
+spirits, he returned to Paris at dawn, hoping his father might have
+been one of the small number that had escaped with slight injuries.
+
+"Has my father returned?" were his first words to the concierge.
+
+"No, monsieur Louis," replied the man.
+
+"There is no doubt possible then--he perished in the accident," he
+moaned, sinking into a chair and bursting into sobs.
+
+In a few moments he had recovered his self-possession however; and,
+without stopping to hear the concierge's words of condolence, he slowly
+ascended to the fifth landing and entered the dreary room.  At sight of
+this gloomy home, so long shared with his beloved father, the young
+man's grief again became uncontrollable; and, throwing himself on the
+bed, he buried his face in his hands and gave free scope to his
+overwhelming sorrow.
+
+He had sobbed thus for half an hour, absorbed wholly in his bitter
+despair, when he was startled by a knock at the door, followed by the
+entrance of some one into the room.
+
+"What is it?" asked Louis, wiping the tears from his eyes.
+
+"I am sorry to disturb you at such a time, Monsieur Louis," said the
+concierge timidly, "but the coachman--"
+
+"What coachman?" questioned the young man in surprise, having entirely
+forgotten the cab in his grief.
+
+"Why, the coachman you retained all night.  It seems you promised him
+twenty extra francs if he would lash his horse to the utmost speed.
+This, with his night's run, comes to forty-nine francs, and he claims
+his money."
+
+"Well, give him the money and tell him to go!" rejoined Louis
+impatiently.
+
+"But, forty-nine francs is an enormous sum, Monsieur Louis; and I can't
+pay it."
+
+"My God! what shall I do!" cried the young man, recalled to the
+material interests of life by this request.  "I have no money!"
+
+"Then why in the deuce do you hire cabs by the hour and in the night,
+too, besides promising twenty extra francs for speed?  You must have
+taken leave of your senses!" cried the astounded man.  "What will you
+do now?  See if you can't find a little money in your father's chest."
+
+These last words recalled what he had forgotten in his paroxysm of
+grief.  His father was rich, and there must surely be some money about
+the place.  Not wishing to prosecute his search in the presence of a
+stranger, however, he said carelessly: "Tell the man to wait, as may
+need the cab again this morning.  If I am not down in half an hour,
+come up and I shall give you the money."
+
+"But this will increase the bill, and if you cannot pay--" the man
+began to remonstrate.
+
+"I know what I am doing," interrupted Louis, coldly; "you may go."
+
+Once alone, he shrank from the task imposed upon him; this
+investigation, at such a moment, seemed almost a sacrilege.  But
+necessity forced him to resign himself to it, and he stifled his
+scruples as best he might.
+
+The furniture of the room Was composed of a writing table, a dresser,
+and an old black-walnut chest divided into two compartments, such as we
+find in the houses of well-to-do peasants.  After a fruitless search of
+the table and dresser, Louis turned to the old chest.  A few pieces of
+worn clothes lay scattered about, but nothing else; and in the long
+drawer that separated the compartments, he found a bundle of
+unimportant papers only.  Thinking this drawer might contain a secret
+hiding place, however, he drew it out completely, and was rewarded for
+his trouble by finding a small brass button beneath it.  As he pressed
+this button, he was astonished to see the bottom of the first
+compartment drop slowly down, revealing a space of about six inches in
+depth, with diverging shelves lined in garnet velvet.  Symmetrically
+arranged between these shelves were innumerable piles of gold pieces,
+representing all countries and epochs.  Each piece had evidently been
+frequently and vigorously rubbed and cleaned, for the whole glittered
+with almost dazzling brilliancy.
+
+Notwithstanding his overwhelming grief, Louis was completely dazzled
+for a moment at sight of this treasure, the value of which he knew must
+be considerable; and it was not until the first impression had passed
+over, that he remarked a piece of folded paper almost beneath his
+fingers.  Recognizing his father's hand-writing, he picked it up
+eagerly and read these words:
+
+"This collection of gold coins was begun September 7, 1803; its actual
+value is 287,634 francs.  (See paragraph IV. in my last will and
+testament, confided to M. Marainville, notary, Rue Sainte-Anne, No. 28,
+who also has all papers, deeds and titles.  See also sealed envelope,
+behind Spanish coin, fifth shelf.)"
+
+Removing several piles of the large, heavy coins, Louis at last found
+an envelope, sealed in black and bearing these words in big letters:
+
+  "TO MY WELL-BELOVED SON."
+
+Before he could open it, however, there was a knock on the door; and,
+remembering that he had told the _concierge_ to return in half an hour,
+he grasped one of the Spanish coins under his hand and quickly pressed
+the button that closed the treasure box.
+
+"What a fine gold piece!" exclaimed the amazed _concierge_, when the
+young man handed him the coin.  "It looks like new, and I never saw one
+like it!  How much is it worth?"
+
+"More than the sum I owe," replied Louis, impatiently; "take it to a
+money broker and pay the coachman."
+
+"Did your father leave you many of these pretty coins, Monsieur Louis?"
+queried the man in a mysterious whisper.  "Who would have believed that
+the poor old man--"
+
+"Go!" cried Louis, irritated at the cynicism of this question.  "Pay
+the coachman, and don't let me see you again."
+
+The man withdrew without another word; and, having bolted the door to
+save himself from further intrusion, the miser's son returned to the
+chest.  For a moment he stood contemplating the dazzling treasure
+before him, and though he reproached himself for thinking of his own
+happiness in that terrible hour, he could not help feeling a thrill of
+delight at the thought that one-fourth that sum would insure comfort
+and independence to his Mariette for a whole lifetime.
+
+Then he tried to forget the cruel stratagem employed by his father
+toward the poor girl, and even succeeded in convincing himself that he
+would have obtained his consent to their union; and that, though he
+might not have admitted his wealth, he would at least have amply
+provided for them.
+
+The discovery of these riches did not inspire him with that covetous,
+revengeful joy usually experienced by the heirs of a miser, when they
+remember the cruel privations to which they were subjected through the
+avarice of the owner; it was, on the contrary, with a feeling of
+touching pious respect, and with a hand trembling with emotion, that he
+unfolded the sheet containing the last wishes of his beloved father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The testament had been written two months previous and was in these
+terms:
+
+"MY BELOVED SON:"
+
+"When you read these lines I shall have ceased to live."
+
+"You have always believed me poor; but I leave you an immense fortune
+accumulated by my _avarice_.
+
+"I have been _miserly_, and do not attempt to excuse my fault; far from
+it, I am proud of it and glory in it.
+
+"And this is why:
+
+"Until the day of your birth, which robbed me of your mother, I was
+unmindful of augmenting my patrimony and the dowry brought me by my
+wife; the moment I had a son, however, that sentiment of foresight,
+which becomes a sacred duty to a father, took possession of me,
+developing slowly into a love of economy, then into parsimony, and
+finally into avarice.
+
+"Moreover, you never suffered through the privations I imposed upon
+myself.  Born sound and robust, the virile simplicity of your education
+has, I believe, aided the development of your excellent constitution.
+
+"When you reached the age of instruction, I sent you to a school opened
+to the children of poor parents; to begin with, it was a means of
+economy; and besides, this mode of education was calculated to form and
+develop habits of a modest, laborious life.  The success of this plan
+surpassed my expectations.  Raised among poor children, you never
+acquired those factitious, expensive tastes; never experienced those
+bitter envies or vain jealousies which often influence our fate fatally.
+
+"I also spared you many griefs which, though childish, are none the
+less cruel.
+
+"You have never had to compare your condition to others more elevated
+or more opulent than your own.
+
+"You have never felt the pangs of that envious hatred inspired by
+comrades in speaking of the splendor of their homes, boasting of the
+antique nobility of their race, or the wealth they would enjoy some day.
+
+"It is generally believed that because children of dissimilar
+conditions wear the same uniform, eat at the same table, and follow the
+same course of study, a sentiment of equality exists between them.
+
+"This is a deep error.
+
+"Social inequality is as well understood among children as it is among
+their elders.
+
+"The son of a rich bourgeois or of a nobleman, almost invariably
+betrays at the age of ten the arrogance, or haughtiness he will display
+in fifteen years later.
+
+"Whether children are _little men_, or men are _grown children_ matters
+little; all have the consciousness of their condition.
+
+"As for you, surrounded as you were by children of the poor, you heard
+them continually speak of the hard labors of their parents; the
+indispensable necessity of work was therefore early impressed on your
+mind.
+
+"Others of your companions dwelt on the privations and miseries endured
+by their families; you thus became accustomed to the idea of our
+poverty.
+
+"Lastly, you saw the greater number of these children resigned and
+courageous--two of the greatest virtues in the world--and until now, my
+beloved son, courage and resignation have never failed you.
+
+"At fifteen you competed for a scholarship in one of the high schools,
+where you finished your studies.  Your first education had already
+borne excellent fruits; for, although many of your new companions
+belonged to the aristocratic world, their contact never altered your
+precious qualities, and you never knew the meaning of either jealousy
+or envy.
+
+"Later, you entered as junior clerk in a notary's office, with a man
+who has long been my friend, and who alone holds the secret and
+administers my fortune.  Until now, the discretion of this friend has
+equaled his devotion.  Near him, you have acquired a perfect knowledge
+of business; and, thanks to my foresight, you shall be in a position to
+skilfully and advantageously administer the considerable wealth I have
+amassed.
+
+"My conscience does not reproach me; and yet, I admit that I sometimes
+fear you will address this reproach to my memory:
+
+"_While you accumulated these riches, my father, you condemned me
+without mercy to the most cruel privations_.
+
+"Reflection drives this fear from my heart, however; I remember how
+frequently you have assured me that you were satisfied with your
+condition, and that if you desired luxuries it was only for my sake.
+
+"In fact, your inexhaustible humor and gentleness, your natural gaiety
+of spirits and tender affection for me sufficiently prove that you are
+contented.  Moreover, do I not share your privations?  Your own
+economies, added to my earnings as a public scribe, have permitted us
+to live without touching my revenues.  The capital has thus been
+growing for twenty years in the hands of my prudent administrator.
+
+"On the day on which I pen these lines, my fortune amounts to about two
+millions and a half.
+
+"I know not how many years of life may still be allotted to me, but in
+ten years I shall have attained the average length of human life; you
+shall then be thirty-five years of age; and since a capital doubles
+itself in ten years, my wealth shall have attained the enormous sum of
+four or five millions.
+
+"Unless I am stricken down suddenly, you shall therefore, in all
+probability, attain your complete maturity before entering into
+possession of these riches.  Your sober, modest, industrious habits,
+contracted in childhood, shall be as a second nature to you; and your
+knowledge of business will be still more developed by practice.  Add to
+these advantages your uprightness of mind, your strong physical
+constitution--unimpaired by early excesses--and you will find yourself
+in the best possible condition to inherit the wealth I have amassed, as
+well as to enjoy it according to your own tastes which, I am sure, can
+be nothing but generous and honorable.
+
+"You may, perhaps, ask why I simply left my capital to multiply by
+itself, instead of attempting some great financial operation or
+enjoying the delights of luxury?
+
+"I shall tell you why, my dear child.
+
+"Although my avarice had its origin in a sentiment of paternal
+foresight, it has now assumed all the inherent characteristics of a
+violent passion.
+
+"I could, and can still, deprive myself of everything to accumulate
+riches upon riches, happy in the thought that it is all for you, and
+that you will enjoy this gold some day; but to release my hold on any
+part of my belongings, for any object whatever, or risk anything in
+financial operations is impossible--no! not while I live!  It would be
+tearing my heart out by the core; for the possession of his treasure is
+life itself to a miser.  Without spending or risking one farthing, I
+can give myself up in imagination to the most hazardous or magnificent
+operations.  And this is neither a vain desire nor an empty dream.  No!
+no! with what I possess, those magnificences and splendors are
+realizable to-day, to-morrow, this very hour, if I choose.
+
+"How then can you expect that a miser should have the courage or will
+to release his hold on such a talisman?  What! for one project, one
+realized dream, would I sacrifice a thousand projects, a thousand
+realizable dreams?  Besides, is not my son happy as he is?  Would he
+not be the pride of the proudest of fathers?  And is it not for him,
+_for him only_, that I hoard up these treasures?
+
+"Had I acted differently, what would have been the result?
+
+"Had I been lavish, my prodigality would have left you in misery; and
+had I spent my income only, we would doubtless have lived in idleness
+and enjoyed a few physical joys or vain satisfactions, but what would
+we have gained?
+
+"Should we have become better?  I know not.  But at my death I would
+have left you a reasonable income only, and not sufficient to realize
+any large and generous undertaking.
+
+"One last word, my dear son, in answer to a reproach you may address my
+memory.
+
+"Believe me, if you have been left in ignorance of my riches, it was
+not through a sentiment of dissimulation or distrust of you.
+
+"These were my reasons:
+
+"Had you known of my riches, though you might perhaps have accepted the
+humble existence I imposed on you without a murmur, you would have
+accused me in your heart of harshness and egotism; and, who knows, the
+certainty of future riches might perhaps also have impaired your
+precious qualities.
+
+"This is not all---forgive me this foolish fear, this apprehension
+which is so unjust to your excellent heart--but to enjoy your filial
+affection in all its purity and disinterestedness during my life, it
+was necessary that you should have no thought of an opulent inheritance
+after my death.
+
+"Another reason, the gravest of all, perhaps, has led me to conceal my
+riches--I love you so tenderly, that it would have been impossible for
+me to see you undergo any privation if you had known that I could
+provide the most sumptuous existence for you.
+
+"Notwithstanding the apparent contradiction that seems to exist between
+this sentiment and my avaricious conduct toward you, I hope, my dear
+child, that you will understand my thought.
+
+"And now, I place myself in spirit face to face with death, which may
+strike me to-day, to-morrow, or this very hour; and I declare, in this
+supreme and solemn moment, that I bless you from the depth of my soul,
+my dear beloved child, you who have given me joy and happiness only in
+this world.
+
+"Be a hundred times blessed, Louis, my good, affectionate son; be happy
+according to your merits, and my last wishes will be accomplished.
+
+"Your father,      A. RICHARD.
+
+"Written and copied in Paris, February 25, 18--"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+Louis was deeply moved by the reading of this singular testament, and
+wept long as he reflected on the eccentricities of his beloved father.
+The day was drawing to a close, when he was finally aroused from his
+grief by a knock at his door and the well known voice of Florestan de
+Saint-Herem.
+
+Quickly unbolting the door of the gloomy attic chamber, he found
+himself in his friend's arms, who cried sympathetically:
+
+"Louis! my poor Louis!  I know all.  The _concierge_ has just told me
+of your father's death.  Ah! what a cruel, frightful accident!"
+
+"Bead this, Florestan," said Louis, with tears in his eyes, giving his
+friend the testament left by his father, "and you will understand my
+bitter grief."
+
+Saint-Herem took the paper and, seating himself by the window, read it
+to the end.
+
+"Do you think I can now blame his avarice?" asked Louis, when his
+friend had finished.  "Was not his only aim to enrich me, to place me
+in a position to gain more wealth, or to make a generous use of the
+possessions he left me?  He imposed the hardest privations on himself
+that he might hoard up treasures for me!"
+
+"Nothing surprises me on the part of a miser," returned Florestan.
+"They are capable of great things--and this applies to all who are a
+prey to that powerful and prolific passion."
+
+"Don't exaggerate, Florestan."
+
+"This may seem a paradox to you, but there is nothing more true.  We
+have always been stupidly unjust to misers," went on Florestan, with
+growing enthusiasm.  "The genius and zeal they display in inventing
+inconceivable, impossible economies is prodigious.  Altars should be
+raised in their honor!  Thanks to their wise, obstinate parsimony, they
+possess a wonderful knack of turning everything into gold; careful
+saving of matches, picking up stray pins, a centime carefully invested;
+in fact, the most trifling of economies bring in returns.  And yet, the
+world denies the existence of alchemists, the inventors of the
+philosophical stone!  Once more, I repeat it, do they not turn into
+gold what is nothing in other hands!"
+
+"You are right enough on that score," laughed Louis.
+
+"On that and on all other scores," rejoined Florestan, seriously.
+"Now, my dear fellow, follow well my comparison; it is worthy of my
+most brilliant days of rhetoric!  Take a dry, sterile land, and dig a
+well into it; what happens?  The smallest springs, the thinnest stream
+of subterranean water, the invisible tears of the earth, evaporated or
+lost until then without profit to anyone, will concentrate, drop by
+drop, into the bottom of this well; little by little the water will
+increase and rise, the reservoir will fill; then, if a beneficent hand
+spreads this salutary spray liberally, verdure and blossoms will appear
+as if by enchantment on that hitherto unfruitful, desolate soil.  Now,
+Louis, is not my comparison good?  Is not the miser's hidden treasure
+like this deep well, where, thanks to his obstinate and courageous
+savings, riches accumulate drop by drop, forming a reservoir from which
+may spring luxury, splendors, magnificence and prodigalities of all
+sorts?"
+
+"My dear Florestan," said Louis, drawn from his grief by his friend's
+enthusiasm, "though my judgment of my father's conduct may have been
+influenced by filial affection, your course of reasoning on the subject
+of economy proves that I was not far wrong, at least."
+
+"You are indeed right, Louis; for if we take a philosophical view of
+avarice, the miser is still more admirable."
+
+"This appears less just."
+
+"Do you not admit that, sooner or later, these riches, so laboriously
+amassed by the miser, will almost inevitably shower magnificences of
+all sorts; for the proverb says: _A miserly father makes a prodigal
+son_."
+
+"I admit that prodigality is the usual dispenser of these long-hoarded
+treasures; but where do you see philanthropy in that?"
+
+"Where do I see it?  Why, in everything!  Do not the consequences of
+luxury and magnificence bring ease and comfort to the hundreds of
+families that weave silks and laces, chisel gold and silver, carve
+precious stones, build palaces, sculpture the ebony of furniture,
+varnish carriages, breed thoroughbred horses, and cultivate rare
+flowers?  Have not artists, architects, musicians, singers,
+_danseuses_, all that is art, pleasure, poetry, enchantment, a large
+share of the gold shower that produces these wonders?  And does not
+this gold shower spring from that magical reservoir so slowly and
+perseveringly filled by the miser?  Therefore, without the miser, we
+should have no reservoir, no gold shower, and none of the marvels which
+this sparkling, beneficent dew alone can produce--Now, let us look at
+the miser from a catholic point of view--"
+
+"Look at the miser from a catholic point of view!" echoed Louis, in
+astonishment.
+
+"That is exactly where he is truly admirable," rejoined Saint-Herem,
+imperturbably.
+
+"I confess that this theory seems to me difficult to sustain."
+
+"On the contrary, it is most simple.   Is not abnegation one of the
+greatest virtues known?"
+
+"Undoubtedly."
+
+"Well, my dear Louis, I defy you to cite me a monastic order whose
+members practice the renouncement of worldly pleasures more absolutely
+and sincerely than the miser.  And his renouncement is truly the more
+heroic, because he has within his grasp all the delights and
+enchantments of soul, mind and senses, and possesses the incredible
+courage to refuse them all.  There is strength, there is the triumph of
+an energetic will."
+
+"But you must take into consideration that avarice almost invariably
+stifles all other passions, and the renunciation is less difficult to a
+miser than to another.  In depriving himself, he satisfies his
+predominant passion."
+
+"Just so!  And is not a power a great passion that will lead to such
+renunciation?  But where the miser is truly sublime, is in his
+disinterestedness."
+
+"The miser's disinterestedness?  You must be jesting, Florestan!"
+
+"Yes, I repeat it, he is truly sublime in his disinterestedness!  The
+miser is perfectly aware that he is despised and execrated during life,
+and that his death will be greeted with delight by his heirs; yet, you
+cannot name a single one who has tried to make his treasure disappear
+with him, with a view of avenging his wrongs.  Two millions in bank
+notes may be turned to ashes in five minutes, and leave no trace; but
+no, these good-natured misers, full of magnanimity and forgiveness,
+forget their injuries and enrich their heirs.  I know of nothing
+comparable to the martyrdom of a miser; and it is not the torture of an
+hour, but of a lifetime.  He knows that the treasure, amassed so
+painfully and with so many privations, will never be enjoyed by
+himself; that the fatal hour will come when this gold, which he loves
+more than life, shall be dissipated in riotous living, in foolish
+orgies, in the midst of which his name and memory shall, perhaps, be
+scoffed and insulted--and by his own son, alas!  And yet he has no
+thought of punishing such insolent cupidity by destroying his treasure!
+Ah! believe me, Louis, avarice is a strong, mighty passion; and nothing
+that is strong and great can be useless.  God, in His infinite wisdom,
+did not create passions without an aim--that is, a power without its
+use.  If he endowed misers with incredible concentration of will, it is
+because they have some mysterious purpose to achieve.  I repeat it, all
+forces have and must have their expansion, all well-directed passions
+their fruitful issues.  Let us suppose, for instance, that a minister
+of finance should bring to the management and economy of public affairs
+that inflexibility which characterizes the miser; would not many
+wonders result from such avarice?  Though Fouquet ruined the finances
+of France, never was the country more flourishing than under Colbert;
+without this avaricious minister, the prodigalities of Louis XIV would
+have been impossible; and all those marvels of magnificence, of art and
+poetry, would have remained unknown.  As you see, all is linked,
+enchained together; each cause produces its effect; the prodigality of
+Louis XIV is the consequence of the avarice of Colbert."
+
+"Remember, Florestan," said Louis, sadly, "that while this _great
+king_, whose memory I have always abhorred, was ruining the country by
+his insolent prodigalities, the heavily-taxed people were living in
+atrocious servitude to provide for the bold ostentations of Louis XIV,
+his mistresses and their children.  And what misery still exists in our
+days!  Ah! if you knew what a life of wretchedness Mariette has
+endured!  Although the poor child is strong and courageous, the sight
+of such frightful destitution would fill your heart with bitter
+resentment."
+
+"What will you, I am a philanthropist in my own way; I take things as
+they come, and, as I cannot do better, I spend to my last farthing.
+None can accuse me of encouraging the idleness of luxurious industries."
+
+"I do not accuse your generous heart, my friend; the man who spends his
+money liberally or foolishly, provides work for the poor, and work is
+bread--yet, you laud avarice."
+
+"My dear fellow, who would appreciate the excellence of arms, if not
+the warrior?  The excellence of a horse, if not the cavalier?  The
+excellence of a lute, if not the player?  Paganini, as pope, would have
+canonized Stradivarius, the maker of those wonderful violins, which the
+great artist plays so admirably.  Therefore, as I have the presumption
+of playing admirably with millions, I would canonize my uncle, that
+heroic martyr of avarice, if distributive justice would only place in
+my hands the wonderful instruments of prodigality he is manufacturing
+by hoarding his money."
+
+"Ah! heavens!" cried Louis, suddenly gazing at his friend with a
+horrified expression.
+
+"What is it?" asked Saint-Herem, quietly.
+
+"Don't you know?"
+
+"Know what?"
+
+"True enough, M. Ramon decided to come to Paris very suddenly."
+
+"Is my uncle in Paris?"
+
+"Ah!  Florestan, what strange things happen in this world--"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"And to think that I should be the one to announce it, after the
+conversation we have just had together!--It is, indeed, most strange!"
+
+"But what in the deuce have you to announce?  And what is there so
+strange about it?"
+
+"I have told you that my father had arranged a marriage between your
+cousin and myself."
+
+"Yes, what then?"
+
+"Being in ignorance of my refusal, and wishing to hasten a marriage he
+desired as ardently as my father, your uncle and his daughter left
+Dreux yesterday and arrived this morning--"
+
+"In Paris.  Well, what of it?  Why this hesitation and embarrassment on
+your part, my dear Louis?"
+
+"They did not come directly to Paris, but stopped at Versailles--at
+Versailles--where my poor father went--"
+
+At this thought, which revived all his grief for his father's terrible
+death, Louis again broke into sobs.
+
+"My dear friend, I understand your bitter grief," said Florestan, moved
+by his friend's emotion, "but try to be more courageous."
+
+"If I hesitate in speaking more clearly," resumed the young man, when
+he had wiped away his tears, "it is because, in this hour of sorrow and
+mourning, I feel to be painfully affected in seeing the
+satisfaction--very excusable perhaps--which the announcement I have to
+make will no doubt cause you."
+
+"In heaven's name, Louis, explain yourself!" entreated Saint-Herem, in
+alarm.
+
+"As I have already told you, my father went to Versailles to meet your
+uncle and his daughter."
+
+"And then?"
+
+"They must have taken the train together, entered the same
+compartment--and--"
+
+"My God!--it would be too horrible!" cried Florestan, burying his face
+in his hands.
+
+The cry of horror and compassion was so spontaneous and sincere, that
+Louis was touched by this proof of kindness of heart on the part of his
+friend, whose first impulse had been a sentiment of generous
+commiseration, and not of cynical, covetous joy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A long interval of silence followed, which Louis was the first to break.
+
+"I cannot tell you how your grief touches me, Florestan," he said, with
+effusion, "it is so much in sympathy with what I feel at this sad
+moment."
+
+"What will you, my friend; as you are aware, I had but little affection
+for my uncle, and could jest concerning his inheritance when I believed
+him in perfect health.  But it would require a heart of stone and an
+outrageous cupidity to feel no sorrow at the terrible fate which my
+uncle and his daughter may have met.  As to what I have said of
+avarice, that passion whose consequences are so fruitful, I retract
+nothing; only I might have treated the subject more seriously had I
+known it to be a personal question.  But I have, at least, proved that
+I am not of those who receive an inheritance with cynical joy.  Now, my
+dear Louis, forgive me if I ask a question which may revive your grief.
+In the painful researches made by you to recover your father's remains,
+did anything lead you to hope that my uncle and his daughter might have
+escaped?"
+
+"All I can say, Florestan, is, that I did not see them among the
+injured or dying.  As to the victims whose fate they and my father must
+have shared, their features are unrecognizable."
+
+"As they must have been with your father, they probably shared his
+fate.  However, I shall write to Dreux and make active researches.  If
+you hear of anything new, let me know--But, in the midst of all these
+sad incidents, I am forgetting Mariette--"
+
+"It was only a cruel misunderstanding, as you suspected.  I found her
+more affectionate and devoted than ever."
+
+"Her love will be a precious consolation in your sorrow--Now, good-bye,
+my poor Louis.  Remember that you may always trust in my affection and
+friendship for you."
+
+"Ah!  Florestan, were it not for your friendship and Mariette's love, I
+know not how I could bear this crushing blow.  Good-bye, my friend, and
+let me know all you can discover concerning your uncle."
+
+Once alone, Louis pondered long over what he should do.  Finally,
+coming to a determination, he placed the gold he had discovered into a
+traveling bag, thrust the will into his pocket, and at once proceeded
+to the office of his employer, the notary and friend mentioned by his
+father.
+
+The notary was much affected by the details of the probable death of
+his client and, having expressed his sympathy to Louis, promised to
+fulfill all the legal formalities necessary to establish the death of
+the old miser.
+
+"There remains one question I wish to ask," said Louis, when all the
+arrangements had been agreed upon.  "When all these sad formalities
+have been gone through, can I dispose of my father's possessions?"
+
+"Most assuredly, my dear Louis," replied the notary.
+
+"These, then, are my intentions.  I have brought you a sum of money
+amounting to over two hundred thousand francs, which I found hidden in
+a drawer; with this gold I wish to assure a pension of twelve hundred
+francs to the godmother of my fiance."
+
+"But is the young girl in a position that--" interrupted the notary.
+
+"The young girl in question earns her own bread," broke in Louis in his
+turn.  "But I love her, and no power on earth can prevent me from
+marrying her," he concluded, in a firm, resolute tone.
+
+"Very well," assented the notary, realizing the uselessness of his
+observations; "the pension shall be paid to the person indicated by
+you."
+
+"Besides, I will take about fifteen thousand francs to fit up a
+suitable home," added Louis.
+
+"Only fifteen thousand francs!" exclaimed the notary, astonished at the
+modest request.  "Will it be sufficient?"
+
+"My fiance and myself have been accustomed to a life of labor and
+poverty, and our ambitions have never gone beyond an existence of
+modest comfort.  An income of a thousand crowns per annum, joined to
+our own earnings, will therefore amply suffice for our wants."
+
+"Joined to your earnings!  What do you mean to do?"
+
+"Remain in your office, if I have not derogated in your estimation."
+
+"What!  Work, with an income of over a hundred thousand livres?"
+
+"I cannot yet believe that this large fortune is mine, my dear friend;
+and even though my poor father's death may be established according to
+legal formalities, I shall always retain a hope that I may again see
+him."
+
+"My poor Louis, your hope is an illusion."
+
+"It is an illusion I shall retain as long as possible, monsieur; and
+while it lasts I shall never feel free to dispose of my father's money,
+save within the limits I have mentioned."
+
+"No son could act with more perfect, and honorable reserve, my dear
+Louis.  But what will you do with the rest of the inheritance?"
+
+"So long as there remains the slightest hope of finding my father among
+the living, you will remain the trustee of his possessions."
+
+"I can only express my admiration for you, my dear Louis.  You could
+not better honor the memory of your father than in acting thus.
+Everything shall be as you desire; I accept your trust, and will manage
+the estate as in the past; and I shall this very day make out the
+contract for the life pension you have mentioned."
+
+"Speaking of that subject, my dear friend, I must enter into details
+that will seem trifling to you, but which, nevertheless, have their
+painful side."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"The poor woman to whom this pension is to be given has been so cruelly
+tried during her long existence, that her character, though naturally
+generous, has become embittered and distrustful; a promise of happiness
+would be vain in her eyes, unless accompanied by palpable, material
+proof--therefore, to convince this unfortunate creature of the reality
+of the pension promised, I shall take with me the sum of fifteen
+thousand francs in gold, which represents the capital of her life
+income.  It is the only means of convincing her of my good intentions
+toward her."
+
+"Nothing is more simple, my dear Louis," acquiesced the notary.  "Take
+what you desire, and rest assured that the papers will be drawn this
+very day."
+
+After a cordial pressure of the hand, Louis left the old notary and
+turned in the direction of Mariette's home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+Louis found Mariette working patiently beside her godmother, who was
+apparently sound asleep in her bed and oblivious of her unfortunate lot
+for a few moments, at least.
+
+The young man's extreme pallor, the alteration of his features and
+their painful expression, struck Mariette at once and filled her with
+grave apprehensions.
+
+"My God! something has happened, Louis!" she cried, coming quickly
+toward him.
+
+"Yes, something terrible has happened, Mariette," he said sadly.  "Have
+you heard of the terrible accident on the Versailles road?"
+
+"Yes, what a frightful thing!  They say there was a large number of
+victims," she rejoined, with a shudder.
+
+"My father was of the number," he added, simply.
+
+The words had scarcely passed his lips, when he felt two soft arms
+encircle his neck and hot tears inundating his cheeks, while the young
+girl sobbed as though her heart would break.  The two young people
+remained thus clasped in each other's arms for several moments without
+uttering a word.  Louis was the first to break the painful silence.
+
+"My darling," he said, "you know what deep affection existed between my
+father and myself--you can understand my despair."
+
+"Your loss is terrible, Louis."
+
+"Your love is my only consolation, Mariette; and I shall ask a new
+proof--"
+
+"You have but to command--my heart is yours."
+
+"We must marry within the shortest possible delay."
+
+"Ah!  Louis! can you doubt my answer for a moment?  Is this the new
+proof of love that you ask?" she said, half reproachfully.  Then, after
+a moment of reflection, she added sadly: "Yet we cannot marry before
+the end of your mourning."
+
+"My dear Mariette, pray do not let such a scruple stand between us."
+
+"I shall do as you wish."
+
+"Listen, Mariette," said the young man, earnestly: "true mourning is
+that of the soul, and with me it will endure long beyond the time
+limited by society and the world in general.  My heart is crushed with
+sorrow, and I can honor the memory of my father without conforming to
+customs of propriety.  And believe me, my darling, a marriage
+contracted under the painful impressions caused by my sad loss, will
+appear more solemn and sacred than if contracted under other
+circumstances."
+
+"You may be right, Louis; yet it is customary to wait," ventured the
+young girl.
+
+"My dear Mariette, shall my father be less deeply regretted because you
+are my wife, and weep over his death with me, because you are wearing
+mourning for him and are attached to his memory by a tender link?
+Besides, my darling, in my grief and isolation, I cannot live without
+you--I would die."
+
+"I am only a poor working girl, ignorant of the ways of the world, and
+can only express what I feel, Louis," rejoined Mariette, unable to
+resist his pleadings.  "The reasons you plead for an early marriage
+seem good to me.  I may be wrong, or I may, perhaps, be influenced by
+my longing to be yours; but I know that I can accede to an immediate
+marriage without regret or remorse.  And yet, it seems to me my heart
+is as tender as others--"
+
+"Yes, and more ungrateful, too!" interrupted a harsh voice; and Mme.
+Lacombe sat bolt upright in her bed, glaring fiercely at the astounded
+young couple.  "Ah! yes," she went on, sarcastically, "you thought the
+old woman sound asleep, and took advantage of it to talk of your
+wedding.  But I heard every word of it."
+
+"There was not a word which you might not hear; madame," observed
+Louis, gravely.  "Mariette and myself retract nothing we have said."
+
+"The deuce!--I believe it--you think of nothing but yourself.  You can
+talk of nothing but that accursed marriage.  As for me--I might as well
+be in my grave--"
+
+"Allow me to interrupt you, madame," broke in Louis, "and prove that I
+have not forgotten my promise."
+
+As he spoke, he took a small wooden box from the table, where he had
+laid it on entering, and deposited it on the bed with the key.
+
+"Open it," he said; "all it contains is yours."
+
+The old woman picked up the key suspiciously, opened the box and peered
+in.
+
+"Great heavens!" she cried in amazement, dazzled by the glittering
+contents.  Then plunging her hand among the shining pieces, she tossed
+them about, jingling them together and allowing them to slip through
+her fingers in a golden shower, muttering covetously:
+
+"Ah! what gold! what gold!--all good and sound, too!--Heavens! what
+beautiful pieces!  What a big sum they must make!"
+
+Turning the box over, she gathered the coins into a dazzling pile and
+added with a sigh:
+
+"That would bring comfort and ease to two poor women like Mariette and
+me for a lifetime!"
+
+"Those fifteen thousand francs are yours, madame," observed Louis.
+
+"Mine!" she cried, "mine!" then shaking her head incredulously, she
+resumed sharply; "That's it, laugh at a poor old woman--why can't you
+leave me in peace?--I don't see why this should belong to me!"
+
+"The money is to be used to provide a pension of twelve hundred francs
+for you," declared the young man, "that you may be independent after
+our marriage; for we shall be married as soon as possible."
+
+"Ah! yes; so you wish to bribe the old woman, and be rid of her once
+for all," growled the irritable Mme. Lacombe.  "Do you imagine I would
+sell myself for money?"
+
+"Dear godmother," cried Mariette, throwing her arms about the woman's
+neck, "don't say we want to get rid of you!  Louis had no thought of
+humiliating you with the money, he merely did what you requested."
+
+"I know it; but what will you, child," she said, softened in spite of
+herself.  "It was the fear of starving in the streets, the fear of
+seeing you unhappily married that suggested the idea of a pension to
+me.  I know that I have no right to expect such a thing, but one can
+never imagine what terror is inspired by the thought of being cast into
+the streets penniless, old and infirm as I am!--All I want is a poor
+mattress in a corner, a crust of bread, and the sight of Mariette's
+sweet face.  I am so accustomed to see her come and go in this wretched
+room, that if she were not there I would think myself shut up in a dark
+tomb.  And besides, she is the only person in the world who could be
+kind to me--all I ask is to remain with Mariette.  That pile of gold
+dazzled me for a moment, but then it humiliated me too in my heart.
+One may be but a worm, and yet have some pride--and yet, when that man
+offered me gold for Mariette the other day, I was not humiliated--I was
+only furious.  But now, here I am weeping; and Mariette knows I have
+not shed a tear for the last ten years.  Bitterness may eat away the
+heart, but it does not melt it."
+
+"These tears will do you good, godmother," said Mariette gently.
+
+"Have confidence in the future, madame," added Louis, consolingly.
+"Mariette will never leave you.  We shall not live in luxury, but in
+modest comfort; and Mariette shall continue to love you as a mother,
+while I shall love you as a dutiful son."
+
+"Are you really in earnest? do you really mean to keep me with you?"
+she asked, gazing earnestly into their faces, as though she would read
+their inmost thoughts.
+
+At this new proof of invincible distrust, the young people exchanged a
+look of compassion; then, taking the sick woman's hand in hers,
+Mariette said tenderly: "Yes, dear godmother, we shall keep you always
+with us, and nurse you as we would our own mother; you shall see how
+happy we shall make life to you--"
+
+"Yes, we shall make your life a dream of happiness," added Louis,
+affectionately.
+
+The voice, accent, expression and earnestness of the two young people
+would have convinced the most skeptic; but alas! an absolute, complete
+belief in sudden happiness could not penetrate this poor soul so long
+corroded by suffering.
+
+"I believe you, my children," she said, with a suppressed sigh, trying
+to hide her involuntary doubt.  "Yes, I believe Monsieur Louis has the
+money; I believe that you both feel some affection for me, also--but
+you know, a new broom sweeps clean!  People are willing enough at
+first, but things change with time.  Besides, I may be in the way;
+newly married people love to be alone, and an old grumbler like me
+spoils the beauty of a cozy house.  You will be afraid of my sharp
+words, grow weary of me, or--"
+
+"Ah! godmother, do you still doubt us?" cried Mariette, reproachfully.
+
+"You must forgive me, my children, but it is stronger than myself,"
+rejoined the unhappy woman, bursting into sobs.  "But then," she added,
+with a forced smile, "it may be better so; for if I were to suddenly
+believe in happiness, after more than fifty years of sorrow and misery,
+I would surely go mad.  And upon my word, it would not surprise me,"
+she concluded bitterly, "it would be just my luck."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Five years had glided by since the eventful incidents related in the
+preceding chapters, and another anniversary of the Versailles disaster
+had been added to the list.
+
+It was about nine o'clock in the evening, and a tall, slender brunette,
+of elegant form and figure, whose beautiful face expressed intelligence
+and firmness both, was giving the finishing touches to a dazzling
+toilette.  She was assisted in this serious and important occupation by
+two skillful maids, one of whom was clasping a necklace of large,
+sparkling diamonds around the white throat of her charming mistress,
+while the other adjusted a magnificent diadem of the same precious
+stones on the raven black hair.
+
+The choice of these diamonds had evidently been made after much
+deliberation, for a number of jewel cases, containing pearls, rubies,
+and other precious ornaments of enormous value, still lay open on a
+toilet table near by.
+
+One of the maids, being much older than her companion, and having been
+in the service of her mistress for many years, seemed to enjoy a
+certain degree of familiarity near the countess--who was a Russian as
+well as herself--which permitted her many observations not usually
+tolerated from her class.
+
+"Does madame like the diadem as it is now?" she asked in her own tongue.
+
+"Well enough," replied Countess Zomaloff, nonchalantly, casting a last
+glance at the large mirror before her.  "Where is my bouquet?"
+
+"Here, madame."
+
+"Heavens! how frightfully yellow and faded it is!" cried the countess,
+shrinking back.
+
+"The duke has just sent it," ventured the maid.
+
+"I recognize his good taste," said the countess sarcastically, as she
+shrugged her pretty shoulders disdainfully.  "I would wager the flowers
+were ordered yesterday morning by some lover who broke off with his
+mistress during the day, and consequently did not call for them in the
+evening.  The Duke de Riancourt is the only man in the world capable of
+discovering such bargains!"
+
+"Ah! madame, can you believe he would economize to that point?"
+protested the maid.  "He is so rich!"
+
+"That makes it only the more probable."
+
+A rap on the door of the boudoir adjoining the dressing-room,
+interrupted the conversation, and the French maid vanished, returning
+almost immediately with the information that the duke had arrived and
+was at madame's orders.
+
+"Let him wait," observed the countess carelessly.  "Is the princess in
+the drawing-room?"
+
+"Yes, madame."
+
+"Very well--here Katinka, clasp this bracelet," resumed the countess,
+addressing the Russian maid in her own language once more, "and see
+what time it is."
+
+Katinka turned to the clock and was opening her lips to reply, when her
+mistress forestalled her by saying, with a mocking smile:
+
+"After all, why should I make such an inquiry.  The duke has just
+arrived, half-past nine must--"
+
+The half-hour stroke from the clock on the chimney interrupted her, and
+she broke into a merry, rippling laugh.
+
+"What did I tell you, Katinka," she laughed, "the duke is a veritable
+clock in exactitude."
+
+"It proves his love and devotion, madame," rejoined the maid.
+
+"I would prefer a less well-regulated love, Katinka," retorted the
+countess.  "These persons who worship at fixed hours seem to have a
+watch where the heart ought to be.  There now, I am almost sorry to be
+so completely dressed and ready, and to have no excuse to make that
+poor duke wait longer to reward him for his pitiless exactitude."
+
+"But, madame," remonstrated the maid, "if you dislike him so, why do
+you marry him?"
+
+"Why?" echoed the countess, absent-mindedly, giving another glance at
+the mirror; "why do I marry M. de Riancourt?  Really, Katinka, you are
+more inquisitive than I am; does one ever know why one marries?"
+
+"Everybody seems to think there exist excellent reasons for this
+marriage, nevertheless," pursued Katinka.  "Although M. de Riancourt
+has no gold mines in Crimea, silver mines in the Ural Mountains,
+diamond--"
+
+"In mercy, Katinka, don't go over the list of my riches!" cried the
+countess, impatiently.
+
+"Well, madame, although the duke has not your immense possessions, he
+is one of the wealthiest and greatest noblemen in France; he is young
+and handsome, has never led a dissipated life, and--"
+
+"And he is worthy of wearing a wreath of orange blossoms on our wedding
+day--a right which I have not; but, in heaven's name, spare me his
+virtues.  My aunt sounds his praises loud enough without assistance."
+
+"Yes, the princess is very fond of monsieur le duc, and she is not the
+only one who--"
+
+"Give me a cloak," interrupted her mistress, "the night is chilly."
+
+"Has madame given her orders for the twentieth of the month?" went on
+the persistent maid.
+
+"What orders?"
+
+"Has madame forgotten that her marriage takes place a week from to-day?"
+
+"What! a week from to-day?--so soon!"
+
+"Madame fixed the date for May 20, and this is May 12--"
+
+"If I said the twentieth, I suppose it must be on the twentieth--give
+me my fan."
+
+The maid brought a collection of magnificent fans and placed them
+before her mistress to allow her to make a choice.
+
+"How singular," murmured the countess, half to herself, as she picked
+out a veritable Watteau from the rich collection; "I am young and free,
+and abhor constraint, yet I have chosen a master."
+
+"A master!" exclaimed Katinka.  "Why, the duke is so good and kind,
+madame!  You will make whatever you wish of him."
+
+"I shall never make an agreeable man of him; and yet, I shall marry
+him.  Ah! my good aunt, your advice may cause me to commit a great
+folly," she added, half laughing, half serious, as she gazed
+mechanically at the mischievous little god of love on her fan.  "I made
+a blind choice among men equal in rank and riches, all so mediocre and
+uninteresting that it mattered not which I chose.  This was the motive
+of my preference for M. de Riancourt, Katinka.  Besides, although
+marriage has its inconveniences, widowhood has still greater ones.  So,
+it is the better to marry, after all; it saves the trouble of wondering
+what we shall do."
+
+Having thus summarily settled this question, Countess Zomaloff
+proceeded to the drawing-room, where she found her aunt and the duke
+awaiting her.
+
+Princess Wileska was a tall, distingue woman, with powdered hair and
+imposing presence, who presented a striking contrast to the meagre
+personage engaged in conversation with her.  The Duke de Riancourt was
+a small, nervous man of thirty years or thereabouts, with a
+sanctimonious, unctuous mien, shifting eyes and long, smooth hair,
+carefully parted near the middle of the forehead, and a rigidity of
+movement that showed great empire over himself.
+
+As the countess entered, he advanced toward her slowly, bowed low and
+raised her pretty hand to his lips with respectful courtesy; then,
+straightening himself up, he gazed at her for a moment as if dazzled,
+and cried, admiringly:  "Ah! countess, I have never seen these
+diamonds!  I don't believe you could find their equal anywhere.
+Heavens! how beautiful, how magnificent they are!"
+
+"Really, my dear duke," rejoined the countess, with well feigned
+embarrassment, "I am much confused--that is, for the jeweler who sold
+them to me--one could never be more gallant than you; and since these
+diamonds cause you so much tender emotion, inspire such gracious
+compliments, such ingenious flattery, I can do no less than confide to
+you the charming name of the bewitching lapidary--his name is _Ezechiel
+Rabotautencraff_, and he resides in Frankfort."
+
+While the amazed duke was searching a reply to this sarcastic sally,
+the princess gave a reproachful glance to her niece; then, turning to
+the discomfited nobleman with a forced smile, said playfully:
+
+"How much Foedora does like to tease you, my dear duke.  This is her
+way of showing her affection to those she loves."
+
+"I will humbly confess, my dear princess," said the duke, anxious to
+repair his awkward blunder, "that I was so dazzled by those magnificent
+stones that, for a moment, I forgot to render homage to the charms of
+the wearer.  But--but--may not one be dazzled by the sun while gazing
+at a charming flower?"
+
+"I find your comparison of the sunstroke and the flower so gallant and
+to the point," retorted the malicious young woman, "that I am tempted
+to believe it was this very same sunstroke that so outrageously
+withered these poor flowers," and a gay ripple of laughter broke from
+her lips, as she pointed to the faded blossoms sent by the duke that
+evening.
+
+The unfortunate man flushed to the roots of his hair, while the
+princess frowned at her irrepressible niece.
+
+"Pray offer your arm to my aunt, my dear duke," resumed the countess,
+totally indifferent to the divers emotions she had caused.
+
+"I promised the embassadress de Sardaigne I would come early, as she is
+to present me to a relative, and, as you know, we must first visit that
+enchanted palace you spoke of, in all its details.  This is an odd time
+for such a visit, it is true; but I admit I have a weakness or, rather,
+a passion, for anything odd.  Originality is such a rare, charming
+thing!"
+
+Preceding her aunt and the duke, the bewitching countess ran lightly
+down the wide stairs of the elegantly furnished house she had rented in
+the Rue de Rivoli, while in search of the mansion she wished to
+purchase in Paris.
+
+On that evening the duke was to take his friends out in his own
+carriage; a very permissible liberty, since the bans of his marriage
+with the countess had already been published.  After a few moments of
+waiting at the door of the mansion, the aunt and niece saw an enormous
+yellow landau advancing toward them, drawn by two emaciated horses
+mercilessly lashed by a coachman in red and blue livery.
+
+"Why--this is not your carriage?" gasped the countess, gazing at the
+duke in amazement as the footman opened the _portiere_ of the vehicle.
+
+"Certainly, madame," he replied.  "And what has become of that pretty
+blue victoria, with the dapple grays, you placed at our disposal
+yesterday morning?"
+
+"Under the present condition of affairs, my dear countess, I may as
+well make a clean breast of it," rejoined the duke, with touching
+_abandon_.  "That I may not fatigue my valuable horses--for they did
+cost me enormously--I hire a carriage for the evening.  This is a great
+point of economy, for it is always a risk to take out a valuable
+turnout at night."
+
+"You are perfectly right, my dear duke," the princess hastened to say,
+fearing a new sarcasm from her niece; and, without further ado, she
+entered the heavy, lumbering thing, leaning on the arm of her escort.
+
+The duke then offered his hand to the countess to assist her in her
+turn; but she stopped with one dainty foot resting on the last step,
+and peered curiously within.
+
+"My dear aunt," she said sweetly, "will you be kind enough to examine
+the carriage well?"
+
+"Why, my dear," asked the princess naively.
+
+"Because I am afraid some freckled, red-headed miss, or some fat city
+merchant may have been forgotten in some obscure corner of this thing.
+These worthy people usually drive out in family parties in just such
+equipages, and I have a horrible fear of finding some of them under the
+seats."
+
+"Really, Foedora, I fail to understand you," returned the princess,
+angrily, while her niece sank in the seat beside her with a laugh.
+"You are absurdly severe toward M. de Riancourt--what can you be
+thinking of?"
+
+"I want to cure him of his meanness and impudence," retorted the
+countess, coolly.  "Could I better prove my interest in him?"
+
+At that moment the duke entered the carriage and took his seat opposite
+the princess and her niece.  Though he seemingly endured with the most
+Christianly patience all the railleries of the young woman who
+possessed all kinds of precious mines, the furtive glance he cast on
+her now and then, and the contraction of his thin lips, betrayed the
+rancour that filled his heart and foreboded no good for the future.
+
+"To the Ramon mansion," he ordered the footman, who stood at the door.
+
+"Beg pardon, monsieur, but I don't know where it is," replied the man,
+respectfully.
+
+"At the end of the _Cours-la-Reine_, in the direction of the quartier
+_Jean-Gonjan_," explained the duke.
+
+"Monsieur means that large mansion which has been in course of
+construction for so many years?"
+
+"That very place," assented the duke.
+
+The footman closed the carriage door, gave his instructions to the
+coachman, who lashed his jaded horses, and the lumbering landau started
+in the direction of _Cours-la-Reine_, where the marvelous Saint-Ramon
+mansion was situated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The heavy vehicle rolled on so slowly, that a pedestrian walking in the
+same direction, easily kept up with it through the whole length of the
+_Cours-la-Reine_, although he seemed anything but nimble footed.
+
+He was poorly dressed and leaned painfully on his stick; his long beard
+was white, as well as his hair and bushy eyebrows, and the dark color
+of his wrinkled face gave him the appearance of a mulatto.
+
+As the landau approached the Saint-Ramon mansion, however, the coachman
+was forced to take his place in the long procession of carriages going
+in the same direction, thus permitting the pedestrian to gain a certain
+distance ahead.
+
+The old mulatto continued his way slowly to the entrance of abroad
+avenue, encumbered with a long line of carriages and almost dazzling
+with bright colored lights, and paused in amazement at the gate.
+
+"Why are these grounds so brilliantly illuminated?" he asked a curious
+looker-on.
+
+"In honor of the opening of the wonderful _Saint-Ramon_ mansion,"
+replied the man addressed.
+
+"_Saint Ramon_!" repeated the old man, softly, as if speaking to
+himself.  "How strange!"
+
+He seemed buried in reflections for a few minutes, then turning once
+more to the man he had already addressed, he asked with evident
+curiosity:
+
+"Can you tell me anything about this mansion, monsieur?"
+
+"People say it is the eighth wonder of the world; and upon my word, it
+must be wonderful; the work has been going on for five years,"
+responded the man.
+
+"To whom does it belong?"
+
+"To a young millionaire, who has spent his money lavishly and very
+foolishly, I believe."
+
+"Do you know his name?"
+
+"I believe the name is Saint Harem or Saint-Herem--"
+
+"There is no more doubt," murmured the old man.  "But why should he
+name it _Saint-Ramon_?"
+
+Again he seemed buried in sad reflections, until aroused from his
+reverie by his companion's voice.
+
+"How singular, after all," the man was saying.  "A rich marquis should
+know only people with equipages; and yet, outside of two or three good
+carriages, the whole procession consists of _fiacres and cabriolets_."
+
+"Singular, indeed," repeated the old man.  "But can you tell me the
+time?"
+
+"Half-past-ten," the man informed him.
+
+"I am to be at Chaillot at midnight only," said the old man to himself.
+"It leaves me ample time to investigate this mystery.  What a strange
+coincidence."
+
+After some hesitation, the old man entered the gate, glided into the
+obscurity of a by-path shaded by secular elm-trees, and walked on
+toward the mansion.  Notwithstanding his evident preoccupation, he
+could not help remarking the immense quantity of flowers that banked
+the main avenue, their thousand variegated colors illuminated by a
+profusion of many-hued lanterns and glittering glass candelabra of all
+shapes and shades.
+
+This fairy-land avenue ended in a vast hemicycle as brightly
+illuminated, beyond which arose the _Saint Ramon_ mansion, a veritable
+palace which, by the beauty and grandeur of its architecture, recalled
+the most brilliant days of the Renaissance.
+
+Crossing the hemicycle, the old man reached an immense porch leading to
+the peristyle.  Through the glass doors that enclosed this antechamber
+in all its length, he could see an army of powdered footmen in
+magnificent livery, while around him a continual stream of carriages
+unloaded a multitude of men, women and young girls, whose extreme
+simplicity of toilet seemed in little harmony with the splendors of
+this enchanted palace.
+
+Urged on by an invincible curiosity, the old mulatto followed the ever
+increasing throng into the peristyle; then passing through a double row
+of footmen, in resplendent blue and silver liveries, and standing as
+impassible as soldiers, he finally reached the reception room, where
+another army of servants in blue coats, black silk breeches and white
+silk stockings, stood in array.  Although the modest appearance of the
+guests seemed little befitting the princely luxury of the house in
+which they were received, the stranger noticed, with some surprise,
+that the most respectful deference was shown to all.  He paused but a
+moment here, however, passing almost immediately into the music
+gallery, beyond which was an immense circular salon, surmounted by a
+dome and forming the center of three other galleries which served as
+ball room, banquet hall, and billiard room.  These four
+galleries--including the music hall--were connected by wide passages
+paved in rich mosaics and adorned with a profusion of exotic plants,
+while they were covered with glass domes, giving the whole the
+appearance of a hot-house.
+
+We shall not attempt to describe the splendor, elegance, noble grandeur
+and sumptuousness of the furnishings of these vast rooms, dazzling with
+gildings and paintings, sparkling with lights, crystals and flowers,
+reflected indefinitely by enormous mirrors, but will merely mention the
+rare magnificence that gave this palace its royal, monumental
+character.  The salon and galleries were adorned with allegorical
+paintings and sculptures that would have made the renown of the most
+beautiful castle in existence.  The most illustrious artists of the day
+had contributed to this superb work.  Ingres, Delacroix, Scheffer, Paul
+Delaroche, and other future celebrities, such as Couture, Gerome, etc.,
+had been employed by the opulent and intelligent creator of this
+palace.  On the banquet table was displayed a marvel of silverware
+worthy of the epoch of Benvenuto; candelabra, ewers, ice basins, fruit
+bowls, flower vases, all would have done honor to a musee by the rich
+purity of form and the precious finish and delicacy that characterized
+each piece.
+
+One odd peculiarity of the vast circular salon must not be omitted,
+however.  Above a gigantic white marble chimney, a veritable monument
+to the bold genius of David--our Michael Angelo--were a number of
+allegorical figures in relief, representing arts and industries, and
+supporting a large oval frame incrusted in the entablature of the
+chimney.  This frame enclosed a painting which might have been
+attributed to Velasquez.  It was the portrait of a pale man, with a
+harsh, austere countenance, hollow cheeks, sunken eyes, and high,
+polished forehead; a brown gown, half in the style of a dressing gown
+and half way resembling the gown of a monk, gave the figure the
+imposing character of those saints and martyrs so numerous in the
+Spanish school of painting; an appearance emphasized, moreover, by a
+gold aureole which seemed to cast its dazzling reflections on the
+austere, pensive face.  Below, traced in large, Gothic letters in a
+space formed by the foliage of the border, were these two words:
+
+    SAINT RAMON.
+
+Still following the throng, the old mulatto finally found himself
+before this chimney.  At sight of the portrait, he stood for a moment
+in amazement; then, overcome by emotion, tears filled his eyes and he
+murmured softly; "Poor friend! it is indeed he!  But why the word
+_saint_ prefixed to his name?  Why that aureole around his brow?  Why
+this mystic appearance?  And besides, what a strange celebration!
+Though poorly dressed, and a stranger, I entered without meeting
+resistance, or even an inquiry."
+
+At this moment a servant bearing fruits and ices approached and offered
+him refreshments, which he refused; he was striving, but in vain, to
+guess what might be the condition of the people around him.  All the
+men were modestly attired; some in black frock-coats, others in new
+blouses, while a few wore the customary evening dress; all maintained a
+discreet reserve, though they expressed their delight to one another in
+low voices; and yet, strange to say, far from appearing amazed at the
+riches accumulated in this palace, they seemed perfectly at ease and
+not at all awed by the magnificence of their surroundings.
+
+The women and young girls, however, seemed more embarrassed and
+intimidated; they naively admired the splendor of the place and
+exchanged comments and observations in whispers.
+
+Anxious to penetrate this singular mystery, the old mulatto again
+approached the chimney and joined a group of guests who were
+contemplating the portrait of _Saint-Ramon_.
+
+"Do you see that portrait, Juliette?" a tall, robust man, with a good
+natured countenance, was asking his wife.  "That good man is well
+entitled to his name.  There are many saints in Paradise who are mere
+idlers beside him, if we are to judge by the good he has done."
+
+"How is that, Michel?" queried the wife, inquisitively.
+
+"We owe these five years of well-paid work to this worthy man, my
+dear," explained the husband.  "Thanks to this M. Saint-Ramon, I have
+earned sufficiently in the last few years to make us all happy and
+contented, and save a great deal besides."
+
+"But, my dear Michel," remonstrated the wife, "this is not the man who
+ordered and paid for the work.  M. Saint-Herem did all that, and it was
+he who welcomed us so kindly when we came this evening."
+
+"That may be, Juliette.  But whenever M. Saint Herem came into the
+place to watch us at work, he never failed to say:  'My children, were
+it not for the riches I have inherited, I could not give you this work
+and pay you as you deserve.   You must therefore reserve all your
+gratitude for the memory of the man who left me so much money; it was
+he who accomplished the hardest task, hoarding his wealth cent by cent,
+depriving himself of every comfort, while I have nothing to do but
+spend this treasure liberally.  To spend is my duty!  Of what use are
+riches, if not to do good!  Remember the good old miser then, and bless
+his avarice; it gives me the pleasure of giving you work in the
+building of a magnificent monument, and to you it gives ample salaries,
+honestly earned!"
+
+"All the same, Michel, we must not forget M. Saint-Herem and give him a
+share of our gratitude."
+
+"You are right, Juliette.  He is a noble young man, and he and his
+uncle make a famous pair."
+
+The old mulatto had listened to this conversation with as much interest
+as astonishment, and as he wandered from group to group, he heard
+nothing but a chorus of praises and blessings in favor of Saint-Ramon,
+the worthy miser, and of his nephew, whose nobility of heart and
+liberality none could laud too highly.
+
+"Is it a dream?" mused the old man.  "Who can believe that these
+praises are addressed to the memory of a miser--a memory usually cursed
+and execrated by the living!  And can it be the heir of this miser, the
+dispenser of his wealth, who rehabilitates him thus?  And why are these
+workmen invited to this inauguration?  It must be a dream!"
+
+But the old mulatto's amazement was still more augmented by another
+singular contrast at this moment.  He had suddenly met a group of men
+in evening dress, with many decorations in their buttonholes,
+accompanied by women in elegant toilettes.  A short distance further on
+was Florestan Saint-Herem, more brilliant and gay than ever in this
+atmosphere of luxury and splendor.  He was standing at the extremity of
+the gallery adjoining the reception-room, welcoming his guests with the
+utmost grace and courtesy, greeting every one with a cordial smile and
+addressing a few words of gracious affability to each woman or young
+girl, charming and placing the most timid at their ease by his
+unaffected sincerity.  It was while accomplishing the duties of this
+most admirable hospitality, that he caught his first glimpse of the
+beautiful Countess Zomaloff, as she entered the first saloon,
+accompanied by Princess Wileska and the Duke de Riancourt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+Although he had long known the Duke de Riancourt, Florestan had never
+met the princess and her niece: but seeing him enter with the two
+ladies, he hastened toward him with a welcoming smile.
+
+"My dear Saint-Herem," said the duke, "allow me to present Princess
+Wileska and the Countess Zomaloff.  These ladies hope you will think it
+no indiscretion on their part if they visit your mansion and its
+wonders with me, according to the invitation you extended yesterday."
+
+"My dear duke, I am only too flattered by the honor of this visit,"
+replied the young man, "and I shall be very happy to show you what you
+are pleased to call the _wonders of this house_."
+
+"M. de Riancourt was right to speak of wonders," rejoined Madame
+Zomaloff, "for I admit that we are so dazzled by a first glance, that
+we can not conscientiously admire any one thing."
+
+"My dear Saint-Herem," resumed the duke, "I may as well make a clean
+breast of it and admit that the countess' visit is not entirely
+disinterested.  I have told her of your intentions concerning this
+place, and as I am to have the pleasure and honor of bestowing my name
+on the countess in a week, you understand that I cannot decide without
+her approval--since, after all, I stand somewhat in the light of--of a
+husband."
+
+"Really, madame," observed Florestan gaily to the countess, "since the
+duke anticipates thus on his happiness, do you not think it only right
+that he should bear the whole consequences of his revelation?
+Therefore, as a husband never gives his arm to his wife, you may
+perhaps do me the pleasure of accepting mine!"
+
+By this sally Saint-Herem spared himself the obligation of offering his
+arm to Princess Wileska, who, in his eyes, appeared a much less
+agreeable companion than her beautiful niece.  He therefore led the way
+with the countess, while M. de Riancourt followed with the princess.
+
+"I have traveled much," remarked the countess to her companion, "and I
+have never seen anything that could equal--not in magnificence, for any
+millionaire can purchase magnificence with his money--but the marvelous
+taste which has presided over the construction of this place.  It is a
+veritable musee of splendors--allow me to pause and admire the superb
+paintings of this ceiling."
+
+"After the admiration of the work comes the reward to the author; does
+it not, madame?" returned Florestan with a smile.  "One word from your
+lips, countess, will make the artist, who painted this ceiling, the
+happiest and proudest man in the universe," he concluded, with a wave
+of the hand toward one of the most illustrious masters of the modern
+school.
+
+"A thousand thanks for procuring me such good fortune," replied the
+countess, advancing toward the artist.
+
+"My dear friend," said Florestan, "the Countess Zomaloff wishes to
+express to you all her admiration for your work."
+
+"Not my admiration only, but my gratitude also," rejoined the young
+woman graciously.  "The exquisite pleasure given by such a
+master-piece, is a debt contracted toward its creator."
+
+"However precious and flattering such praises may be to me," returned
+the artist, with a modesty marked by good taste, "I can only accept a
+share of it.  Pray allow me to place myself _hors de cause_, I can then
+express myself more freely.  For instance, let us take the painting of
+the concert gallery, which you will admire by and by; they are due to
+our Raphael--M. Ingres.  Well, this monumental work, which in the
+future will furnish art pilgrims as much cause of admiration as the
+most beautiful frescoes of Rome, Pisa, or Florence, would perhaps never
+have existed were it not for my excellent friend Saint-Herem.  Was it
+not he who gave our French Raphael the subject of one of his immortal
+pages?  Truly, madame, in these days of vulgar luxuries and brutal
+magnificences, is it not a phenomenon to meet a _Medicis_, as in the
+brightest epoch of Italian republics?"
+
+"You are right," said the countess, enthusiastically, "and history is
+just in illustrating--"
+
+"Forgive the interruption, countess," laughed Florestan, "but I am as
+modest as my illustrious friend; and for fear your admiration should be
+thrown away on an unworthy object, I shall point out the veritable
+_Medici_--This is he."
+
+As he spoke, he designated the portrait above the chimney.
+
+"What a pensive, austere face!" exclaimed the countess, gazing at the
+painting with a feeling of mingled surprise and curiosity.  Then, as
+her eyes fell on the inscription below, she added with increased
+astonishment:
+
+"Saint-Ramon?--Who is he?"
+
+"A saint of my own, madame," laughed Florestan.  "He was my uncle; and
+although I am not yet a pope, I have taken the liberty to canonize this
+admirable man in recognition of his long martyrdom during life and the
+miracles he accomplished after his death."
+
+"His long martyrdom and his miracles!" echoed the countess.  "You must
+be jesting, monsieur?"
+
+"Not at all, madame.  My uncle Ramon endured the most atrocious
+privations during his long life, for he was pitilessly and sublimely
+avaricious--this was his martyrdom.  At his death, I inherited his
+enormous wealth and conceived this prodigious work of art--these are
+his miracles.  I have sanctified his memory by gratitude--this is his
+canonization.  As you see, it is a veritable legend taken from the
+_Lives of the Saints_."
+
+Struck by the originality of the young man, Madame Zomaloff remained
+silent for a moment, absorbed in deep meditation; while the duke, who
+until then had loitered some distance behind, approached them.
+
+"My dear Florestan," he said, "I have been very eager to address you a
+really odd question since my arrival.  Who are all these people?  I
+recognize a few eminent artists, here and there, and a renowned
+architect, but none of the rest.  The princess and myself have vainly
+searched the key to the enigma.  They are all quiet and reserved, and
+the young girls appear very modest, while a few are really pretty; but
+I am anxious to learn to what class of society they belong!"
+
+"Since M. de Riancourt has the courage to ask you so indiscreet a
+question," broke in the countess, "I shall admit that I share his
+curiosity."
+
+"You have no doubt remarked," said Florestan, with a smile, "that the
+persons assembled here this evening do not belong to what we call the
+aristocracy--"
+
+"True, indeed."
+
+"Yet, madame, a few moments ago you were happy to meet the great artist
+who designed the dome you so much admired, were you not?"
+
+"Indeed, the meeting caused me great pleasure, I assure you."
+
+"I believe you also approve me for inviting him, as well as many of his
+colleagues, to the inauguration of their united work?"
+
+"The invitation certainly seemed almost a duty on your part, monsieur."
+
+"Well, madame, this duty, inspired by gratitude, I have fulfilled
+toward all who have contributed to the construction of this house, from
+the greatest artist to the most humble workman.  All are here with
+their families, to enjoy the splendors they have created.  Is it not
+just that the skillful and obscure man who chiseled the golden cup
+should moisten his lips in it, once, at least, in his life?"
+
+"What!" cried the duke in stupefaction, "these are carpenters, gilders,
+blacksmiths, paper-hangers, ebonists, masons!--even masons!  Why, it is
+absurd, impossible, incredible!"
+
+"My dear duke, do you know the habits of the bees?" queried Florestan.
+
+"Very little," replied the duke stiffly.
+
+"Their habits are most savage and impertinent, my dear duke.  Those
+insolent creatures--under the fabulous pretext that they have
+constructed their hives--have the impudence to inhabit them.  And, what
+is more shocking still, they claim their right to the sweet honey on
+which they have so steadily and intelligently labored through the
+season--"
+
+"Well, and what do you conclude from that?"
+
+"I conclude from it that, through gratitude at least, we should allow
+the poor, laboring human bees the innocent pleasure of inhabiting for a
+single day the gilded hive they have built for idle drones like us, who
+enjoy the honey gathered by others."
+
+The countess, who had drawn a little apart, now again placed her hand
+on Florestan's arm and gently led him a little away from her aunt and
+M. de Riancourt.
+
+"Monsieur de Saint-Herem," she said with emotion, as they walked slowly
+on, "your idea is not only charming, but of a touching delicacy.  I am
+no longer astonished at the air of contentment which pervades around
+us, and which I have remarked on the features of your guests.  The more
+I think of it, the more generous and just it seems to me.  After all,
+as you say, this is the work of these laborers, and you have honored
+and dignified labor by this fete.  From your point of view, this
+mansion must be far more than an object of art and luxury to you, for
+many precious souvenirs are attached to its creation."
+
+"You are right, madame."
+
+"Then--"
+
+"Go on, madame,"
+
+"I cannot understand why--"
+
+"Why do you hesitate?  Pray, explain your thought!"
+
+There was a moment of silence, then she resumed, with some
+embarrassment:
+
+"Two days ago, in speaking of the difficulty of purchasing a mansion as
+large and sumptuous as I desired, M. de Riancourt recalled the fact
+that you wished to sell this property."
+
+"Yes; the duke wrote to me, requesting permission to visit the house.
+I begged him to wait till this evening, as he could then see the
+reception-rooms to more advantage--but I did not then anticipate the
+honor of receiving you."
+
+"Monsieur de Saint-Herem," she said, still hesitatingly, "you have been
+very indulgent to me--will you allow me one more question?"
+
+"Indulgence in this instance has been so sweet and agreeable to me,
+that I shall thank you for the opportunity of exercising it once more.
+What is it?"
+
+"How can you have the courage, or, rather--I shall use a very harsh
+word, I fear--how can you have the ingratitude to leave this house,
+which you have created with so much love, and to which are attached so
+many kind, generous souvenirs?"
+
+"Upon my word, madame!" he replied carelessly, as if he were saying the
+most natural thing in the world, "I must sell this mansion because I am
+ruined, completely ruined.  This is my last day of good fortune and
+wealth, and you must admit, madame, that, thanks to your presence here,
+this day could not have a more brilliant or happier evening!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Florestan de Saint-Herem had uttered the words "I am ruined" with so
+much simplicity and carelessness that the countess gazed at him
+dumbfounded for a moment, unable to believe what she had heard.
+
+"What!" she finally gasped, "you are--"
+
+"Ruined! completely ruined!" he repeated.  "My uncle left me five
+millions five years ago; I have spent it all, plus eighteen hundred
+thousand francs.  The sale of this mansion, however, with its
+furniture, paintings, silver, etc., will pay my debts and leave me in
+possession of about a hundred thousand francs.  With that I shall
+retire to some smiling country place and turn shepherd; a charming
+contrast, especially when I recall my past existence.  What marvelous,
+impossible dreams--changed into realties for myself, my friends, my
+mistresses--my gilded whirlwind carried in my train!  What renown is
+mine! how all that was beautiful, elegant, sumptuous, _recherche_, was
+swallowed up in my dazzling orbit!  Would you believe, madame, that my
+reputation for liberality had spread over Europe?  Nay, more; a
+Chandernagor lapidary sent me an Indian saber with its handle studded
+with gems, enclosing a pretty, laconic note in these words:  'This
+cimeter belonged to Tippo-Saeb; it should belong to M. Saint-Herem.
+The weapon is worth twenty-five thousand francs, payable at the
+Rothschild house, in Paris.  Received twenty-five thousand francs.'
+Yes; the rarest and most precious objects of art were naively addressed
+to me from all parts of the world; the finest horses walked into my
+stables, the most exquisite wines filled my cellars; the most
+illustrious chefs fought for the privilege of serving me, and the
+celebrated Dr. Gasterini--do you know him, madame?"
+
+"Who has not heard of the most famous gourmand the world has ever
+known?"
+
+"Well, madame, that great man proclaimed that he had eaten as good a
+dinner in my house as in his own--a compliment he could not pay, even
+to the table of M. de Talleyrand.  Ah! madame, what a grand, complete,
+beautiful life!  And women!  Ah! women!"
+
+"Monsieur!--"
+
+"Fear not, madame, I shall speak of women only as objects of art.  And
+really, can there exist a more charming pretext for magnificence?
+Luxury is but the accessory; a woman is so pretty, adorned and
+surrounded by all the products of art.  Believe me, madame, I have the
+certainty of having ruined myself generously, nobly and intelligently.
+I have neither a foolish expense nor a wicked action to reproach
+myself!  It is with a mind full of delicious souvenirs, a heart full of
+serenity, that I see my fortune take wings!"
+
+His tone was so sincere, the truth of his words and sentiments were so
+strongly expressed on his loyal, handsome face, that the countess could
+not but be convinced of the reality of all he said.
+
+"I must admit, monsieur," she observed softly, "that such philosophy
+confounds me!  Now that the hour of renouncing such a life is at hand,
+not a word of bitterness escapes your lips!"
+
+"Words of bitterness! after so much joy and happiness?  Ah, madame,
+that would be blasphemy!"
+
+"You leave this enchanted palace without regret, without even a sigh,
+and at the very moment when you would have enjoyed it?"
+
+"What will you, madame?  I did not believe myself so near the end until
+a week ago, when my rascally steward showed me my accounts, and I
+resign myself to the inevitable with a good grace.  Besides, in leaving
+this palace, created with so much love, I am like the poet who has
+written the last stanza to his poem, the artist who has given the last
+touch to his canvas; there still remains the imperishable glory of
+having achieved a masterpiece.  This palace is a monument of art and
+magnificence; it shall always be the temple of luxury, fetes,
+pleasures.  Ah! how ungrateful I should be to complain of my fate!  It
+is you, madame, who shall be the divinity of this temple; for you shall
+purchase it, will you not?  You would grace it so well!  Do not lose
+the opportunity; for, as the duke has informed you, Lord Wilmot has
+made me very pressing offers.  I should be sorry to sell it to him; he
+is so ugly, and so is his wife, and so are his five daughters!  What
+divinities for this temple, which seems built expressly for you!  I beg
+you, madame, take it for the love of that art you appreciate so well.
+Only, be merciful to my worthy uncle!  It is a magnificent painting
+and, although the portrait and the name of _Saint Ramon_ are often
+repeated in sculptured medallions on diverse parts of the facade, I
+would be happy to think that this brave uncle--from the height of his
+marble monument--would assist for centuries to the pleasures of which
+he deprived himself during life!"
+
+"My dear Florestan," interrupted the duke, touching his elbow, "it is
+all very beautiful and wonderful.  But eighteen hundred thousand
+francs--including furniture and silver, of course--is an exorbitant
+price."
+
+"I am completely disinterested in the matter, my dear duke," replied
+the young man, with a smile, "those eighteen hundred thousand francs
+belong to my creditors, and I shall therefore be horribly tenacious on
+the conditions.  Moreover, as I have already told you, Lord Wilmot
+offers me that sum and urges me to accept it."
+
+"That may be, but I am sure you would grant me a favor you would refuse
+Lord Wilmot.  Come, Saint-Herem, don't be inflexible--give me a
+discount, and--"
+
+"Monsieur de Saint-Herem," broke in the countess, "I shall take the
+house on the conditions you proposed."
+
+"Heaven be praised!" exclaimed Florestan, extending his hand toward
+her.  "My good star never deserts me, madame; the affair is settled."
+
+"But, madame--" interposed the duke, surprised and annoyed at the
+liberality of his future wife, and still hoping to obtain a reduction
+on the price, "this is a matter involving considerable money!  And at
+the point we have reached, it is impossible that you should act without
+my authority.  When we are married--"
+
+"Monsieur de Saint-Herem, you have my word," interrupted the countess,
+with a scornful glance at the duke.  "This purchase is a personal
+matter; my steward will negotiate with yours to-morrow, at any time you
+may wish."
+
+"Agreed, madam," assented Florestan; then turning to M. de Riancourt,
+he added gaily, "I hope you will bear me no ill-will, my dear duke; you
+should show yourself to be a real grand seigneur, and not bargain like
+a banker."
+
+The orchestra; which had been silent for a quarter of an hour, now
+struck up a new cotillion.
+
+"Pardon me, countess," resumed the young man, "but I must leave you.  I
+am to dance this cotillion with the charming daughter of one of the
+best workmen who assisted in the building of this mansion--or rather of
+_your mansion_, madame.  And I cannot tell you how happy I am to carry
+away that thought in leaving you."
+
+He bowed respectfully, and vanished in the throng.
+
+"My dear Foedora," said the princess, who had remarked the long
+tete-a-tete of her niece and Saint-Herem with much impatient anxiety,
+"it is growing late, and we promised Madame de Sardaigne to come early."
+
+"Allow me to observe, madame," put in the duke, addressing his
+_fiancee_ in his turn, "that you were too hasty in this matter.
+Saint-Herem is forced to sell this house to pay his debts, and with a
+little perseverance we could have obtained a reduction of fifty
+thousand crowns at least, especially if you had requested it
+yourself--some things are very difficult to refuse a pretty woman!" he
+concluded with his most amiable smile.
+
+"My dear Foedora, what are you thinking about?" resumed the princess to
+her niece, who was leaning on a gilded mantel covered with flowers,
+absorbed in deep reflection and deaf to all remonstrances.  "Foedora,"
+repeated her aunt, tugging gently at her sleeve, "what are you dreaming
+about?"
+
+"I am thinking of M. de Saint-Herem," said the conntess, regretfully
+awakening from her reverie.  "All this is so strangely odd--"
+
+"I really believe that despair at his ruin must have impaired poor
+Florestan's mind," observed M. de Riancourt, sententiously.  "One must
+be mad to inaugurate a mansion with such a ball; it savors of
+socialism!"
+
+"The duke is right; the thing is absurd and ridiculous," chimed in the
+princess.  "What an amusing story we shall have to relate at the
+embassy!--but, my dear Foedora, why don't you answer?--what ails you?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the countess; "what I experience, is most
+singular."
+
+"You want air, my dear countess," rejoined the duke, with solicitude.
+"This agglomeration of the masses is stifling; and though the
+apartments are spacious--"
+
+"Foedora, are you ill?" broke in the princess.
+
+"No, indeed," declared the countess, "the emotion I experience is, on
+the contrary, full of sweetness and charm.  To tell you the truth, my
+dear duke, I scarcely know how to express--"
+
+"In mercy, explain yourself countess," urged the duke, anxiously.  "The
+strong perfume of these flowers probably affects you strangely."
+
+"No, that is not it.  I hesitate to speak, because you will both think
+me so strange, so eccentric--"
+
+"Ah! countess, how could we think you otherwise than charming!"
+exclaimed the duke gallantly.
+
+"Foedora, explain yourself," said her aunt impatiently.
+
+"I am quite willing to do so, but I shall surprise you greatly I know,"
+she said, with a confident air; then turning to the duke, she added
+archly: "It seems to me--"
+
+"It seems to you," repeated he, encouragingly.
+
+"That--"
+
+"Go on."
+
+"That I am dying to marry M. de Saint-Herem," she concluded, very low.
+
+"Madame!" cried the amazed duke, turning crimson.  "Madame!"
+
+"What is it, my dear duke?" inquired the princess.  "How flushed your
+face is!"
+
+"My dear countess," rejoined the duke, with a forced smile, "the jest
+is rather--"
+
+"Pray, give me your arm," interrupted Foedora carelessly, "we are
+already very late.  But then, it is all your own fault; how is it that
+you, the personification of exactitude, did not proclaim the hour of
+eleven long ago?"
+
+"Ah! madame, I assure you I am not in a laughing humor.  Your cruel
+jest wounded me to the heart."
+
+"I was not aware that you possessed such a vulnerable heart."
+
+"Your suspicion is unjust; I would die for you!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+The duke raised his eyes to heaven and heaved a long sigh.
+
+"If I were to ask anything of you," she retorted, "it would not be so
+heroic a sacrifice, I assure you."
+
+The carriage was now announced, and the party left the mansion.  Almost
+at the same instant the old mulatto was also turning away from the
+place, dazzled and amazed at what he had heard and seen, and still
+dreaming of the blessings showered on the name of Saint-Ramon by the
+guests of this peculiar fete.
+
+"Half-past eleven," murmured the old man, as the hour struck from a
+distant steeple.  "I shall be there at midnight--and what shall I
+learn?  Ah! what anguish is mine!"
+
+And with a deep sigh he slowly began the ascent of the declivity,
+stretching along the Seine, to the Rue Chaillot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The old mulatto wended his way slowly toward the heights of Chaillot,
+until he reached the church of that poor, populous _faubourg_.
+
+To his astonishment, he found the church in a blaze of lights.  Through
+the wide open door could be seen the sanctuary and altar, brilliantly
+illuminated with tapers and decorated with flowers, as though in
+anticipation of some imposing ceremony, while grouped in the street and
+surrounding windows, a throng of curiosity seekers and belated
+wayfarers excitedly discussed the approaching event.
+
+"They cannot delay much longer," observed one.
+
+"No, for it is nearly midnight," rejoined another.
+
+"Rather a strange hour for a marriage."
+
+"Undoubtedly; but with such a dowry one can afford peculiar things."
+
+"Who is to be married at this odd hour?" questioned the old man from
+the last speaker.
+
+"You must be a stranger in this part of the city," replied the man
+addressed, "or you would know all about the _six marriages_, which for
+four years have taken place on the night of May 11 and 12."
+
+"May 11 and 12," repeated the old man, with a start.  "But why do you
+call it the _six marriages_?"
+
+"Because each year six young girls, with a dowry of ten thousand francs
+each, are married here."
+
+"A dowry of ten thousand francs!  And from whom?"
+
+"From a worthy man who died five years ago, whose name is as popular
+and as reverentially blessed in Chaillot as the _Petit manteau bleu_ in
+Paris."
+
+"And who is this worthy man, in whose name these young girls are so
+generously dowered?" pursued the old mulatto, with a slight tremor in
+his voice.
+
+"He was called Pere Richard," returned the man in a deferential tone.
+
+"And why does this Pere Richard do so much good after his death?"
+continued the old man, making an effort to conceal his emotion.
+
+"Simply because this was his idea, and because his son religiously
+carries out his last wishes," explained the man.  "And everybody can
+tell you what a noble man M. Louis Richard is.  Himself, his wife and
+child live on three or four thousand francs a year, at the most,
+although he must have inherited a large fortune from his father to
+enable him to bestow annually a dowry of ten thousand francs each on
+six young girls, not counting the expenses of the 'school' and the
+'House of Providence.'"
+
+"Excuse the curiosity of a stranger; but you speak of a school and--"
+
+"Yes; the school is directed by Madame Mariette, M. Louis Richard's
+wife.  The school was founded for the benefit of twenty-five boys and
+as many girls, who remain there until they have attained the age of
+twelve, when they begin their apprenticeship.  The children are fed,
+clothed and educated and receive ten sous a day.  In this manner,
+parents are induced to send them to school instead of forcing them to
+work in shops."
+
+"And the school is under the direction of M. Louis Richard's wife?'
+
+"Yes; she claims to have suffered cruelly through her own want of
+education when she was only a poor shop girl, and she is particularly
+happy in the thought that she may save others the sufferings she
+endured."
+
+"You also spoke of another institution?"
+
+"That house was founded for the benefit of twelve poor, crippled women
+who cannot work.  It is under the direction of Madame Lacombe."
+
+"Who is Madame Lacombe?"
+
+"Madame Richard's godmother, a good, worthy soul, who lost one hand
+years ago.  She is the personification of gentleness and patience.
+She can truly sympathize with the crippled women under her charge, for
+she says that her goddaughter and herself often suffered the pangs of
+hunger before the former's marriage to M. Richard.  But here is the
+wedding procession."
+
+The old man turned to the street and saw a gay cortege approaching, led
+by Louis, with Madame Lacombe on his arm, closely followed by Mariette
+leading a pretty boy of four years by the hand.
+
+Madame Lacombe was totally unrecognisable.  Her face, formerly so
+haggard and worn, was the picture of health, while her countenance
+beamed with happiness and benevolence; her silver white hair was
+smoothly brushed back beneath a dainty lace cap, and her silk dress was
+half concealed by a beautiful cashmere shawl--a tasty toilet which gave
+her a most dignified and imposing appearance.
+
+Louis Richard's features bore an expression of grave and reserved
+felicity, and he seemingly realized the full grandeur of the duties he
+had imposed upon himself; while Mariette, who had grown still prettier
+in this beneficial atmosphere, distinguished herself by that air of
+sweet gravity so becoming to young mothers.  In her legitimate pride,
+she still retained the modest dress of her girlhood and wore the
+coquettish little cap of the shop-girl; and Providence, no doubt,
+rewarded her for her modesty, for she looked bewitchingly fresh and
+pretty beneath the lace head-gear, with its knots of pale blue ribbon,
+as she smiled sweetly on the blond rosy child at her side.
+
+Next came six young girls, in white dresses and crowned with orange
+blossoms, accompanied by their fiances and relatives, all belonging to
+the laboring class; then came the twenty-four couples united in the
+four previous years, followed by the school children and the crippled
+old women who had found refuge in the charitable institutions founded
+with the miser's money.
+
+The old mulatto gazed in silent reflection at the procession, while his
+neighbors commented freely on the memorable event.
+
+"They owe all this happiness to old Richard," he heard some one say.
+
+"And to his son," added another voice.
+
+"Undoubtedly; but the son would have been powerless without the
+father's money."
+
+"Do you know that more than a hundred and fifty persons assembled here
+owe everything to the good old man?"
+
+"Yes; and in the last four years, six or seven hundred persons must
+have shared the benefits of the inheritance."
+
+"And if M. Louis lives thirty years longer, the number will reach five
+or six thousands--thousands saved from misery and crime, perhaps."
+
+"You forget the children of these happily married couples, who will
+have the advantages of education and good breeding procured by this
+generous dowry."
+
+"You are right; the good accomplished by old Richard is beyond
+calculation.  What a pity so few know how to spend their money!"
+
+"Yes; but there are few such men as Richard and his son.  But why are
+you weeping?" concluded the speaker, turning suddenly toward the old
+mulatto.
+
+"The praises I hear on all sides of--of this Richard and his son, and
+the sight of so much happiness causes me a strange emotion," explained
+the old man.
+
+"If you are interested in the ceremony, you may follow the cortege to
+the _House of Providence_, my good man," returned his first informant,
+as he moved toward the entrance of the church.
+
+The old man stood motionless for a few moments, then slowly followed
+the throng into the sacred edifice.  Throughout the whole solemn
+ceremony, he seemed plunged into a sort of ecstasy, as if a sudden
+revelation had opened an immense, dazzling horizon, hitherto veiled to
+his eyes.  Burying his face in his hands, he sank into a deep
+meditation from which he was aroused by the grave sonorous voice of the
+officiating priest addressing the newly-married couples.
+
+"And now that your union is consecrated by God," he was saying,
+"continue the honest, laborious life which has been repaid by the
+happiness you now enjoy; never forget that you owe this just
+remuneration of your courage in adversity to a man gifted with the most
+tender and generous affection for his brothers; for, faithful to his
+duties as a Christian, he does not look upon himself as the master, but
+as the dispenser of his riches.  In giving M. Richard a son so worthy
+of him, the Lord has recompensed that great man, and his memory shall
+live amongst men.  Your gratitude will create his immortality; his name
+shall be blessed by you, by your children and your children's children;
+the venerated name of M. Richard shall be engraved on your hearts as a
+souvenir of rare virtue!"
+
+A murmur of approbation greeted these words, drowning the stifled sobs
+of the old mulatto whose face was still buried in his hands.
+
+The ceremony was now over, and the noise and bustle of the dispersing
+throng recalled him to himself.  Rising from his knees, he hurried to
+the door, where he stood, trembling in every limb, waiting for the
+passage of the leading group in the procession.
+
+As Louis Richard crossed the threshold, the old man's hand came in
+contact with his own, causing him to turn in that direction.  Seeing
+the bowed head and shabby clothes of the stranger, the young man
+slipped a gold coin between his fingers, saying kindly: "Take it, and
+pray for Pere Richard."
+
+The old man eagerly grasped the coin, and raising it to his lips, burst
+into tears.  Then leaning once more on his cane, he slowly followed the
+gay party.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+The _House of Providence_ was built on the highest point of Chaillot,
+in a healthful, beautiful spot, and was surrounded by a large, shady
+garden which served as pleasure grounds to its inmates.
+
+The night was calm and serene, and the atmosphere was impregnated with
+the sweet fragrance of a profusion of spring blossoms, while numerous
+gas-jets illuminated the wide avenue that led to the entrance of the
+principal building.
+
+The stranger, who still followed the throng, soon found himself in the
+midst of a semi-circle silently grouped around a high porch, listening
+to the following words from a voice that thrilled him with strange
+emotion:
+
+"My friends," Louis was saying, "five years ago to-night, I lost the
+best of fathers in the frightful accident of the Versailles road.
+Being possessed of considerable wealth, my father might have lived in
+comfort and idleness; but he deprived himself of all luxury, working
+for his daily bread, slowly accumulating riches by his parsimony and
+augmenting them year by year by his abnegation.  Then came his
+premature death, and I mourned over the loss of the greatest friend of
+humanity; for, according to his last wishes, I have consecrated his
+wealth to the accomplishment of three great and noble duties:
+
+"Toward children.
+
+"Toward young girls.
+
+"Toward women whom age and infirmities render incapable of work.
+
+"To poor children, my father has provided elementary instructions; to
+young girls, so often exposed to the seductions of vice, he has assured
+the pure and sweet joys of family life, so often denied to children of
+poverty; to aged or infirm women, he has given rest and comfort for the
+remainder of their days.
+
+"These last wishes I have faithfully carried out to the limits of the
+means he has left me.  The good thus done may be small in comparison to
+the innumerable miseries of humanity; but the man who does what he can,
+_shares his bread_ with his famished brother and does his duty.  This
+is a duty imposed on all alike, and all should strive to reach that
+ideal.  My father conceived that generous thought--I am but the agent,
+the echo.  The accomplishment of this glorious duty would fill my life
+with boundless felicity, were it not that I must weep over the death of
+a beloved and deeply regretted father."
+
+As the speaker uttered the last words, a wild commotion spread through
+the assemblage; overcome by his emotion, the old mulatto had fallen
+unconscious in the arms of his neighbors.  On hearing the cause of the
+sudden agitation, Louis ordered that the stranger be carried to his own
+apartments on the ground floor of the building, where he could receive
+prompt and careful attention; insisting at the same time that the
+wedding festivities should go on uninterrupted, and that Mariette and
+Madame Lacombe should preside in his place at the supper table in the
+garden.
+
+In the meantime, the old man had been transported into Louis' study,
+which was furnished with the few odd pieces of furniture carried away
+from the old home so long shared in common between the father and son.
+When the young man entered, the stranger was still unconscious, his
+white hair falling in disorder over his brow and his unkempt beard
+almost totally concealing his features.
+
+Frightened at his immobility, Louis despatched the attendant for a
+bottle of spirits; then bending over him he caught the emaciated hand
+to feel the pulse.  As he peered anxiously into the withered face, the
+stranger turned slightly and uttered a few unintelligible words.
+
+The sound of the voice struck him strangely.  Bending lower he tried to
+distinguish the features of the patient; but the semi-obscurity of the
+room and the disordered hair and beard rendered his examination
+fruitless.
+
+Then the mulatto's eyes opened slowly; raising his head languidly, his
+gaze wandered over the room and rested on the familiar objects.
+
+"Where am I?" he murmured.  "Is it a dream?  My God! my God!"
+
+This time the voice was more distinct and Louis trembled visibly; then
+a bitter smile came to his lips and he shook his head sadly.
+
+"Alas!" he said, in a low tone, "what illusions sorrow will cause."
+Then turning to the patient, he added kindly: "Do you feel stronger
+now?"
+
+At these words, the stranger sat bolt upright, and catching Louis' hand
+kissed it rapturously.
+
+"There, don't agitate yourself," resumed the young man.  "I have done
+nothing to win your gratitude.  Some day I may be able to do more.  But
+tell me how you feel.  Was it fatigue or weakness that caused your
+swoon?"
+
+The old man still remained silent, his head bowed down and pressing
+Louis' hand convulsively to his breast.
+
+A singular emotion filled the young man's heart, and the tears came
+into his eyes as he continued:
+
+"Listen to me, father."
+
+"Oh! again, again!" murmured the stranger, in a voice choked with
+emotion.
+
+"Well, father--"
+
+"Louis!" cried the old man, unable to control himself longer.
+
+This single word, uttered with all the strength of his soul, was a
+revelation.
+
+The young man started back as though a thunderbolt had fallen at his
+feet, and stood for a moment pale and trembling, his gaze fixed on the
+haggard features before him.  The commotion was too violent, the moral
+shock too deep, to allow him to realize the astounding truth at once.
+It seemed like the sudden transition of deep night to the bright
+sunshine, which dazzles and renders us momentarily blind.
+
+Then the reality suddenly burst on his dazed senses; throwing himself
+on his knees beside the couch, he brushed back the disheveled white
+hair from the stranger's face, and scanned the featured of his father,
+disguised under a fictitious color.  There was no longer any doubt; he
+threw his arms about the old man's neck, murmuring in a sort of filial
+delirium: "You!--you, my father--Heaven be praised!"
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+"We shall not attempt to describe this first explosion of joy and
+delirious happiness.  Who can paint those affectionate embraces, those
+tender words that come from the heart and throw the soul into an
+ecstacy of bliss?  When the first emotion had finally subsided,
+however, Louis eagerly questioned his father concerning those long
+years of separation.
+
+"My dear child," began the father, "I slept for five years and awakened
+for the first time two days ago.  I was in the wrecked car with Ramon
+and his daughter; but through some inexplicable chance my life was
+spared, though my leg was fractured and the fright drove me mad."
+
+"You, my father?"
+
+"Yes, I completely lost my reason."
+
+"Heavens! how terrible!"
+
+"A kind surgeon carried me to a place of safety and afterward conveyed
+me to the Versailles asylum.  I was perfectly harmless and spoke only
+of my lost treasures.  For four years I remained in the same condition;
+then I gradually regained my reason, and two days since was pronounced
+cured.  I cannot express what I experienced as memory came back to me,
+after these five years of slumber; but I blush to admit that my first
+thought was that of the miser.  What had become of my wealth? what use
+had it been put to?  The moment the doors of my prison opened before
+me, I flew to my notary's office.  You can imagine his stupefaction
+when he recognized me.  He then informed me that your first thought had
+been to act as trustee only to my riches, and to use merely enough for
+your existence until you reached the age of thirty-five.  Then came
+your severe illness six months later, and fearing you might die without
+accomplishing your sacred task, you conceived other projects.  'What
+were these projects?' I asked.  'Wait until midnight to-morrow,' the
+notary replied, and go to the church at Chaillot.  There you will learn
+all, and thank heaven to have given you such a son.'  I had the
+patience to wait, my dear son, hoping to approach you without being
+recognized.  Oh! my noble, beloved son! if you knew what I have heard
+and seen!  Thanks to your grandeur of soul and the pious ruse of your
+filial affection, I found my name blessed and venerated!  If you knew
+what sudden revolution took place in me!  While blessings were showered
+on my memory, it seemed to me that my soul had burst its terrestrial
+chains and was hovering above the world, just as the souls of good men
+must hover above us, while listening to the expressions of love and
+gratitude  from those whom they have benefitted.  But, alas! this
+illusion was of short duration---I was not deserving of these praises."
+
+"You are mistaken, father," protested Louis.  "Without your persevering
+economy I could never have accomplished anything.  You placed the lever
+in my hand.  My only merit has been to make good use of the immense
+force you concentrated at the price of innumerable sacrifices and
+privations.  The horrible misery and the ignorance through which my
+beloved wife had suffered, the dangers to which they had exposed her,
+the cruel infirmity of her guardian, all these bitter things were a
+lesson to me; Mariette, her godmother and myself have tried, as far as
+it lay in our power, to spare others what we had suffered,--"
+
+At this moment the door was burst suddenly open and Florestan de
+Saint-Herem dashed, breathless into the room.
+
+"Rejoice, oh! rejoice!" he cried, throwing himself into his friend's
+arms.  "Saint-Ramon has performed the most wonderful of miracles!"
+
+"What do you mean?" gasped the astonished Louis.
+
+"Two hours ago I was completely ruined, and now I am richer than I ever
+was or ever will be.  Only fancy, Louis, I am the possessor of gold
+mines, silver mines, diamonds of untold value, of fabulous
+riches--millions and millions, in fact!  Oh!  Saint-Ramon, how just I
+was to sanctify your name, to canonize you, for you are not ungrateful!"
+
+"In mercy, explain yourself, Florestan!"
+
+"One hour ago, as the ball was drawing to a close, a servant informed
+me that a lady had just arrived in a fiacre and requested to see me at
+once.  Hastening to my apartments, I was amazed to find the Countess
+Zomaloff, a young and beautiful widow, quietly waiting for me.  This
+charming woman was to have married the Duke de Riancourt within a week
+and had purchased my house during the evening.  My surprise was so
+great that for a moment I was unable to utter a word.
+
+"'Monsieur de Saint-Herem,' she said, without a tremor of agitation in
+her voice, 'you must forgive me for disturbing you, but I shall retain
+you a few moments only--I am a widow and twenty-eight years of age; I
+had promised to marry the duke, and would probably have been foolish
+enough to keep my word it I had not met you.  You have a generous heart
+and a lofty soul; the fete you have given this evening proves it; I
+admire your intellect and character, and your person pleases me.  As
+for me, the step I am taking now gives you the opportunity of judging
+my worth--You may think my actions strange, improper, or eccentric--you
+are at liberty to appreciate me as you wish.  If your judgment is
+favorable, however, I shall be proud and happy to become Madame de
+Saint-Herem and inhabit the Saint-Ramon mansion with you.  My wealth is
+fabulous, and you may dispose of it as you wish, for I confide my
+future blindly into your hands.  I shall therefore await your decision
+anxiously.  Good-night, Monsieur de Saint-Herem.'
+
+"With these words the fairy vanished, my dear Louis, leaving me in such
+a state of dazzling happiness that I feared I would lose my reason."
+
+"My dear Florestan," said his friend gravely, "the countess' frankness
+and blind confidence in you impose a great duty on you."
+
+"I understand, my friend," rejoined Saint-Herem seriously.  "I had a
+right to squander my own fortune; but to ruin a woman who trusts her
+whole future into my hands would be a piece of unparalleled infamy!"
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+One month later, Louis Richard, with his father and Mariette, assisted
+at the nuptial benediction of Florestan de Saint-Herem and Madame
+Zomaloff.
+
+Notwithstanding his father's resurrection, Louis still continues to
+dispense charity around him, greatly aided in the benevolent task by
+old Richard himself, who now exhibits as much zeal in relieving poverty
+and distress, as he formerly did in hoarding up his treasure and
+ministering to his one great passion or besetting sin--avarice.
+
+May the twelfth is now doubly celebrated.  A magnificent fete is given
+yearly by M. and Madame de Saint-Herem in honor of their first meeting,
+for the marriage of _convenance_ has turned out to be one of love.  But
+at midnight, they invariably leave the brilliantly illuminated
+Saint-Ramon mansion and accompany Louis and Mariette to their home,
+where they share the wedding supper of the six happy couples united on
+that day.
+
+
+
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