sh) that his father might be innocent, he now preserved
the appearance at least of perfect calmness. "If I tell my secret to
Perrine's father, I risk disturbing in him that confidence in the
future safety of his child for which I am his present and only warrant."
Something like this thought was in Gabriel's mind, as he took the hand
of Pere Bonan, and waited anxiously to hear what was required of him on
that day.

"We have a short respite from danger, Gabriel," said the old man. "News
has come to me that the spoilers of our churches and the murderers of
our congregations have been stopped on their way hitherward by tidings
which have reached them from another district. This interval of peace
and safety will be a short one--we must take advantage of it while it
is yet ours. My name is among the names on the list of the denounced. If
the soldiers of the Republic find me here--but we will say nothing more
of this; it is of Perrine and of you that I must now speak. On this very
evening your marriage may be solemnized with all the wonted rites of our
holy religion, and the blessing may be pronounced over you by the lips
of a priest. This evening, therefore, Gabriel, you must become the
husband and the protector of Perrine. Listen to me attentively, and I
will tell you how."

This was the substance of what Gabriel now heard from Pere Bonan:

Not very long before the persecutions broke out in Brittany, a priest,
known generally by the name of Father Paul, was appointed to a curacy
in one of the northern districts of the province. He fulfilled all the
duties of his station in such a manner as to win the confidence and
affection of every member of his congregation, and was often spoken of
with respect, even in parts of the country distant from the scene of
his labors. It was not, however, until the troubles broke out, and the
destruction and bloodshed began, that he became renowned far and wide,
from one end of Brittany to another. From the date of the very first
persecutions the name of Father Paul was a rallying-cry of the hunted
peasantry; he was their great encouragement under oppression, their
example in danger, their last and only consoler in the hour of death.
Wherever havoc and ruin raged most fiercely, wherever the pursuit was
hottest and the slaughter most cruel, there the intrepid priest was sure
to be seen pursuing his sacred duties in defiance of every peril. His
hair-breadth escapes from death; his extraordinary