ached, she heard him say:--

"I thank Heaven for bestowing upon me such a pleasure. I have never felt
an emotion like that aroused by the scene we have just witnessed; even
the rather burlesque form of this confidence, which was certainly very
artless, for it was quite involuntary, only adds to the honor of the
surprising generosity it revealed. Placed as I am by my ministry in
the way of knowing of many charities, and often either the witness or
intermediary of good actions, I think I never in my life have met with
a more touching or a more ingenious devotion. To keep the left hand
ignorant of what the right hand does is a great step in Christianity;
but to go so far as to rob one's self of one's own fame to benefit
another under such conditions is the gospel applied in its highest
precepts; it is being more than a Sister of Charity; it is doing the
work of an apostle of beneficence. How I should like to know that noble
young man, and shake him by the hand."

With her arm slipped through that of her godmother, Celeste was standing
very near the priest, her ears intent upon his words, her arm pressing
tighter and tighter that of Madame Thuillier, as the abbe analyzed the
generous action of Felix Phellion, until at last she whispered under her
breath:--

"You hear, godmother, you hear!"

To destroy the inevitable effect which this hearty praise would surely
have on Celeste, Thuillier hastened to say:--

"Unfortunately, Monsieur l'abbe, the young man of whom you speak so
warmly is not altogether unknown to you. I have had occasion to tell you
about him, and to regret that it was not possible to follow out
certain plans which we once entertained for him; I allude to the very
compromising independence he affects in his religious opinions."

"Ah! is that the young man?" said the abbe; "you surprise me much; I
must say such an idea would never have crossed my mind."

"You will see him presently, Monsieur l'abbe," said la Peyrade, joining
in the conversation, "and if you question him on certain grounds you
will have no difficulty in discovering the ravages that a love of
science can commit in the most gifted souls."

"I am afraid I shall not see him," said the abbe, "as my black gown
would be out of place in the midst of the more earthly gaiety that will
soon fill this salon. But I know, Monsieur de la Peyrade, that you are a
man of sincerely pious convictions, and as, without any doubt, you feel
as much interest in t