certain that she has even followed us. How can
she know anything about it?' She! Who was she? This is what I racked my
brain to discover, but without success. I must confess, monsieur, that
being of a practical nature, and not in the least degree romantic, I
arrived at the conclusion that the peril chiefly existed in the count's
imagination, or that he greatly exaggerated it. Still he suffered none
the less on that account, as was shown by the fact that the following
month was spent in hurried journeys from one Italian city to another.

"It was the end of May before M. de Chalusse would consent to return to
France; and then we went direct to Lyons. We had spent a couple of days
there, when the count informed me that prudence required us to separate
for a time--that our safety demanded this sacrifice. And without giving
me time to say a word, he began to explain the advantages that would
accrue from such an arrangement. I was extremely ignorant, and he wished
me to profit by our temporary separation to raise my knowledge to
a level with my new social position. He had, accordingly, made
arrangements for me to enter the convent of Sainte-Marthe, an
educational establishment which is as celebrated in the department of
the Rhone as the Convent des Oiseaux is in Paris. He added that it would
not be prudent for him to visit me; and he made me solemnly promise that
I would never mention his name to any of my schoolmates. I was to send
any letters I might write to an address which he would give me, and he
would sign his answers with a fictitious name. He also told me that the
lady superior of Sainte-Marthe knew his secret, and that I could confide
in her. He was so restless and so miserably unhappy on the day when
he acquainted me with these plans, that I really believed him insane.
Nevertheless, I replied that I would obey him, and to tell the truth,
I was not ill pleased at the thought of the change. My life with M.
de Chalusse was a monotonous and cheerless one. I was almost dying of
ennui, for I had been accustomed to work, bustle, and confusion with the
Greloux, and I felt delighted at the prospect of finding myself among
companions of my own age.

"Unfortunately, M. de Chalusse had forgotten one circumstance, which
made my two years' sojourn at Sainte-Marthe a lingering and cruel agony.
At first I was kindly treated by my schoolmates. A new pupil is always
welcome, for her arrival relieves the monotony of convent-life. Bu