as thyself,' the blessed Commandment given us by our
Lord?"

D'Elsac, however, did not agree on this point, and he told her so, while,
secretly, he congratulated himself on not having been too hasty in his
choice. "I might have taken this heretic home," he thought, "and so near
Geneva as we are, she would have all the encouragement one heretic ever
gives another. Let me be cautious, therefore, I will watch Caliste and
Lisette carefully, before I select one as a daughter."

Just when the good man had arrived at this conclusion, a sound of many
voices reached them, and the next minute Margoton Durocher, with her
daughters and neighbours, stopped at her door. There was an increase of
noise and bustle on the appearance of D'Elsac, and for some minutes
everybody spoke and nobody listened.

Dorsain was much struck with the change years had effected in his sister.
She was as lovely as any of her own daughters when they last met: now she
was become very stout, and her features were very coarse; but still her
dark eyes sparkled with pleasure, and her cheeks were glowing with
unusual bloom.

She saluted her brother on each side the face, inquired kindly after his
wife, and then without waiting for further particulars of the reason of
his visit, she called aloud for Caliste and Lisette to present them to
their uncle.

If Dorsain had been pleased with the quiet Victorine, he was enchanted
with the growing and still budding beauty of Lisette, who was certainly,
in outward appearance, the loveliest of the family; then Caliste, too,
with her long dark eyelashes, and her look of proud pensiveness, was very
charming. In short, the worthy man looked first on one fair girl and
then on another in high delight, and concluded by heartily embracing the
little Mimi playfully, scolding her for pushing by him so hastily, and
then, in the same breath, declaring that never before had any uncle four
such very charming nieces.

It was curious to see how differently the sisters took this
compliment--the proud Caliste's lip slightly curled in scorn at it, as a
mere kind commonplace; Lisette blushed, and took the praise as all her
own; Victorine smiled good-humouredly, and little Mimi archly took up her
uncle's words, and inquired "if he had come to Salency, to see which of
her sisters would look best as the Rosiere."

Dorsain, to his astonishment, was suddenly and loudly congratulated on
his probably near connection to the future Rosiere,