ess, "that ought to be the reason that makes me
leave the room; else, why should I be so distant?"

"Ah! madame, there are other reasons that might make a woman avoid a
man's presence. For instance, if he has displeased her; if the advice,
given to him with rare wisdom and kindness, was not received with proper
eagerness and gratitude."

"Oh, my dear monsieur," she replied, "I have no such ardor in
proselytizing that I am angry with those who are not docile to my
advice. I am, like others, very apt to make mistakes."

"On the contrary, madame, in the matter of my marriage your judgment was
perfectly correct."

"How so?" said the countess, eagerly. "Has the seizure of the pamphlet,
coming directly after the failure to obtain the cross, led to a
rupture?"

"No," said la Peyrade, "my influence in the Thuillier household rests
on a solid basis; the services I have rendered Mademoiselle Brigitte
and her brother outweigh these checks, which, after all, are not
irreparable."

"Do you really think so?" said the countess.

"Certainly," replied la Peyrade; "when the Comtesse du Bruel takes it
into her head to seriously obtain that bit of red ribbon, she can do so,
in spite of all obstacles that are put in her way."

The countess received this assertion with a smile, and shook her head.

"But, madame, only a day or two ago Madame du Bruel told Madame
Colleville that the unexpected opposition she had met with piqued her,
and that she meant to go in person to the minister."

"But you forget that since then this seizure has been made by the
police; it is not usual to decorate a man who is summoned before the
court of assizes. You seem not to notice that the seizure argues a
strong ill-will against Monsieur Thuillier, and, I may add, against
yourself, monsieur, for you are known to be the culprit. You have not, I
think, taken all this into account. The authorities appear to have acted
not wholly from legal causes."

La Peyrade looked at the countess.

"I must own," he said, after that rapid glance, "that I have tried in
vain to find any passage in that pamphlet which could be made a legal
pretext for the seizure."

"In my opinion," said the countess, "the king's servants must have
a vivid imagination to persuade themselves they were dealing with
a seditious publication. But that only proves the strength of the
underground power which is thwarting all your good intentions in favor
of Monsieur Thuillier."

"Madame," s