perceiving with what blind confidence, with what ineffable joy, the
smith accepted the favorable presentiments which seemed to consecrate
his happiness. Mother Bunch also said to herself: "At least, henceforth
I shall not be agitated by hopes, or rather by suppositions as
ridiculous as they were senseless. Agricola's marriage puts a term to
all the miserable reveries of my poor head."

Finally, she found a real and deep consolation in the certainty that
she had been able to go through this terrible trial, and conceal from
Agricola the love she felt for him. We know how formidable to this
unfortunate being were those ideas of ridicule and shame, which she
believed would attach to the discovery of her mad passion. After having
remained for some time absorbed in thought, Mother Bunch rose, and
advanced slowly towards the desk.

"My only recompense," said she, as she prepared the materials for
writing, "will be to entrust the mute witness of my pains with this new
grief. I shall at least have kept the promise that I made to myself.
Believing, from the bottom of my soul, that this girl is able to make
Agricola happy, I told him so with the utmost sincerity. One day, a long
time hence, when I shall read over these pages, I shall perhaps find in
that a compensation for all that I now suffer."

So saying, she drew the box from the pigeon-hole. Not finding her
manuscript, she uttered a cry of surprise; but, what was her alarm, when
she perceived a letter to her address in the place of the journal! She
became deadly pale; her knees trembled; she almost fainted away. But her
increasing terror gave her a fictitious energy, and she had the strength
to break the seal. A bank-note for five hundred francs fell from the
letter on the table, and Mother Bunch read as follows:

"Mademoiselle,--There is something so original and amusing in reading in
your memoirs the story of your love for Agricola, that it is impossible
to resist the pleasure of acquainting him with the extent of it, of
which he is doubtless ignorant, but to which he cannot fail to show
himself sensible. Advantage will be taken to forward it to a multitude
of other persons, who might, perhaps, otherwise be unfortunately
deprived of the amusing contents of your diary. Should copies and
extracts not be sufficient, we will have it printed, as one cannot
too much diffuse such things. Some will weep--others will laugh--what
appears superb to one set of people, will seem ridi