venteen.

"'He, the young man, was fond of my--my lover, almost as fond of him
as I was myself, for he had been equally cherished and cared for by both
of us. He used to call him his 'dear friend,' and respected him
immensely, having never received from him anything but wise counsels and
an example of integrity, honor, and probity. He looked upon him as an old
loyal and devoted comrade of his mother, as a sort of moral father,
guardian, protector--how am I to describe it?

"'Perhaps the reason why he never asked any questions was that he had
been accustomed from his earliest years to see this man in my house, at
my side, and at his side, always concerned about us both.

"'One evening the three of us were to dine together--this was my
chief amusement--and I waited for the two men, asking myself which
of them would be the first to arrive. The door opened; it was my old
friend. I went toward him, with outstretched arms; and he pressed my lips
in a long, delicious kiss.

"'All of a sudden, a slight sound, a faint rustling, that mysterious
sensation which indicates the presence of another person, made us start
and turn round abruptly. Jean, my son, stood there, livid, staring at us.

"'There was a moment of atrocious confusion. I drew back, holding out my
hand toward my son as if in supplication; but I could not see him. He had
gone.

"'We remained facing each other--my lover and I--crushed,
unable to utter a word. I sank into an armchair, and I felt a desire, a
vague, powerful desire, to flee, to go out into the night, and to
disappear forever. Then convulsive sobs rose in my throat, and I wept,
shaken with spasms, my heart breaking, all my nerves writhing with the
horrible sensation of an irreparable, misfortune, and with that dreadful
sense of shame which, in such moments as this, fills a mother's heart.

"'He looked at me in a terrified manner, not venturing to approach, to
speak to me, or to touch me, for fear of the boy's return. At last he
said:

"'I am going to follow him-to talk to him--to explain matters to
him. In short, I must see him and let him know----"

"'And he hurried away.

"'I waited--waited in a distracted frame of mind, trembling at the
least sound, starting with fear and with some unutterably strange and
intolerable emotion at every slight crackling of the fire in the grate.

"'I waited an hour, two hours, feeling my heart swell with a dread I had
never before experienced, such anguish tha