'mode,' and
I am too old to conform to the new school. But you are not so; you must
leave this, boy,--you must enter the world, and at once, too. You shall
come back with me to Paris."

"And leave my mother?"

"She is not your mother,--you have no claim on her as such; I am more
your relative than she is, for your mother was my cousin. But we live in
times when these ties are not binding. The guillotine loosens stronger
bonds, and the whisper of the spy is more efficacious than the law of
divorce. You must see the capital, and know what life really is. Here
you will learn nothing but the antiquated prejudices of Raper, or the
weak follies of--others."

He only spoke the last word after a pause of some seconds, and then
moodily sank into silence.

I did not venture to utter a word, and waited patiently till he resumed,
which he did by saying,--

"The Countess has told you nothing of your history,--nothing of your
circumstances? Well, you shall hear all from me. Indeed, there are facts
known to me with which she is unacquainted. For the present, Jasper,
I will tell you frankly that the humble pittance on which she lives is
insufficient for the additional cost of your support. I can contribute
nothing; I can be but a burden myself. From herself you would never hear
this; she would go on still, as she has done hitherto, struggling and
pinching, battling with privations, and living that fevered life of
combat that is worse than a thousand deaths. Raper, too, in his own
fashion, would make sacrifices for you; but would you endure the thought
of this? Does not the very notion revolt against all your feelings of
honor and manly independence? Yes, boy, that honest grasp of the hand
assures me that you think so! You must not, however, let it appear that
I have confided this fact to you. It is a secret that she would never
forgive my having divulged. The very discussion of it has cost us the
widest estrangements we have ever suffered, and it would peril the
continuance of our affection to speak of it."

"I will be secret," said I, firmly.

"Do so, boy; and remember that when I speak of your accompanying me
to Paris, you express your wish to see the capital and its brilliant
pleasures. Show, if not weary of this dreary existence here, that you at
least are not dead to all higher and nobler ambitions. Question me about
the life of the great world, and in your words and questions exhibit the
interest the theme suggests. I ha