d a diamond pin.

The barrister did not interrupt her, but allowed her to get excited and
to chatter; to enumerate her causes for complaint against poor Count de
Baudemont, who certainly had no suspicion of his wife's escapade, and
who would have been very much surprised if anyone had told him of it at
that moment, when he was taking his fencing lesson at the club.

When she had quite finished, he said coolly, as if he were throwing a
pail of water on some burning straw:

"But, Madame, there is not the slightest pretext for a divorce in
anything that you have told me here. The judges would ask me whether I
took the Law Courts for a theater, and intended to make fun of them."

And seeing how disheartened she was,--that she looked like a child
whose favorite toy had been broken, that she was so pretty that he
would have liked to kiss her hands in his devotion, and as she seemed
to be witty, and very amusing, and as, moreover, he had no objection to
such visits being prolonged, when papers had to be looked over, while
sitting close together,--Maitre Garrulier appeared to be considering.
Taking his chin in his hand, he said:

"However, I will think it over; there is sure to be some dark spot that
can be made out worse. Write to me, and come and see me again."

In the course of her visits, that black spot had increased so much and
Madame de Baudemont had followed her lawyer's advice so punctually, and
had played on the various strings so skillfully that a few months
later, after a lawsuit, which is still spoken of in the Courts of
Justice, and during the course of which the President had to take off
his spectacles, and to use his pocket-handkerchief noisily, the divorce
was pronounced in favor of the Countess Marie Anne Nicole Bournet de
Baudemont, nee de Tanchart de Peothus.

The Count, who was nonplussed at such an adventure turning out so
seriously, first of all flew into a terrible rage, rushed off to the
lawyer's office and threatened to cut off his knavish ears for him. But
when his access of fury was over, and he thought of it, he shrugged his
shoulders and said:

"All the better for her, if it amuses her!"

Then he bought Baron Silberstein's yacht, and with some friends, got up
a cruise to Ceylon and India.

Marie Anne began by triumphing, and felt as happy as a schoolgirl going
home for the holidays; she committed every possible folly, and soon,
tired, satiated, and disgusted, began to yawn, cried, and fo