tal had been: it was closed: the last patient had left it,
and the house was to be sold to satisfy the creditors. Monsieur de
Marne perceived that a great many people avoided him; the lawsuit had
given them a very bad opinion of him, and the friends and relations
of the director had contributed to increase it; indeed, the misery
which had been caused to so many poor people had thrown an odium over
the whole affair, and turned every person against him. The report
spread that he was come to purchase the house and the rest of the
hospital lands; and one day, as he was passing through the streets,
the children threw stones at him. He began to feel all the injury he
had done, and a thousand circumstances perpetually reminded him of
it. The son of Jacques, the poor man whose widow he had assisted, had
broken his leg, and it remained quite distorted. Monsieur de Marne
told his mother that she ought to have had it set. "That would have
been easy," she replied, "when there was an hospital here; but
now"------and she stopped.

'He saw that the country people were neglecting to cultivate their
gardens, which he knew had been profitable to them, and inquired the
reason. "Oh," said they, "we used to sell our vegetables to the
hospital; but now"------and they stopped; and Monsieur de Marne saw
that every one's mind was filled with a subject which it would be
impossible for him ever to forget. He was about to quit the country,
and even to sell his estate, when an epidemical disease broke out in
the next village. It was prevalent there almost every year; and it
was for that reason especially that the hospital had been originally
founded by a man of wealth, who, having been attacked by the disease,
made a vow that, if he recovered, he would found an hospital, into
which all the poor of the village, and of a certain distance round
it, should be received and taken care of. "When his benevolent object
was completed, all the poor, on the first symptom of disease,
repaired to the hospital, where, from the care and attention they
received, they in most cases soon recovered; and it was also a great
means of preventing contagion. This year the disorder was
particularly severe, and the ill feeling towards Monsieur de Marne
rose to a great height. He sent large assistance to the village, and
endeavoured to mitigate the sufferings of the poor people; but he
still heard it said as he passed along: "There goes Monsieur de
Marne, who has come to res