oad to
see the young men, whose adventures had made them famous throughout the
department. Madame d'Hauteserre held her sons to her breast for a long
time, her face covered with tears; she was unable to speak and remained
silent, though happy, through a part of the evening. No sooner had the
Simeuse twins dismounted than a cry of surprise arose on all sides,
caused by their amazing resemblance,--the same look, the same voice,
the same actions. They both had the same movement in rising from their
saddles, in throwing their leg over the crupper of their horses when
dismounting, in flinging the reins upon the animal's neck. Their dress,
precisely the same, contributed to this likeness. They wore boots _a la_
Suwaroff, made to fit the instep, tight trousers of white leather, green
hunting-jackets with metal buttons, black cravats, and buckskin gloves.
The two young men, just thirty-one years of age, were--to use a term in
vogue in those days--charming cavaliers, of medium height but well set
up, brilliant eyes with long lashes, floating in liquid like those of
children, black hair, noble brows, and olive skin. Their speech, gentle
as that of a woman, fell graciously from their fresh red lips; their
manners, more elegant and polished than those of the provincial
gentlemen, showed that knowledge of men and things had given them that
supplementary education which makes its possessor a man of the world.

Not lacking money, thanks to Michu, during their emigration, they had
been able to travel and be received at foreign courts. Old d'Hauteserre
and the abbe thought them rather haughty; but in their present position
this may have been the sign of nobility of character. They possessed all
the eminent little marks of a careful education, to which they added a
wonderful dexterity in bodily exercises. Their only dissimilarity was
in the region of ideas. The youngest charmed others by his gaiety, the
eldest by his melancholy; but the contrast, which was purely spiritual,
was not at first observable.

"Ah, wife," whispered Michu in Marthe's ear, "how could one help
devoting one's self to those young fellows?"

Marthe, who admired them as a wife and mother, nodded her head prettily
and pressed her husband's hand. The servants were allowed to kiss their
new masters.

During their seven months' seclusion in the forest (which the young
men had brought upon themselves) they had several times committed the
imprudence of taking walks abou