ise.
Some day you will understand it better."

Dolores looked at him in astonishment. Though she was deeply moved she
made no reply, but throwing her arms around his neck she kissed him
again and again, thus unconsciously arousing a new passion in what had
been the soul of a child only a few moments before, but what had
suddenly become the soul of a man.

But the hour of departure had come. The char-a-banc drawn by two strong
horses was in waiting at the base of the hill. They were to walk down
the hill with Philip and bid him farewell there. Philip gave his arm to
his mother; Dolores walked between Coursegol and the Marquis, with an
expression of profound sorrow upon her features.

An air of sadness and gloom pervaded everything. It was the close of
autumn; the air was full of withered leaves; they rustled beneath the
tread at every step, and the wind moaned drearily through the pines.

"Take care of your health," said the Marquise.

"Write to me," pleaded Dolores.

"Be brave and upright," said the father; then all three, turning as if
with one accord to Coursegol, placed Philip under his protection.

Again they embraced their beloved; again they wept; then one more
embrace, one last kiss, and he was gone. The carriage that bore him away
was hidden from their sight by clouds of dust, and the loving hearts
left behind sadly wondered if this cruel parting was not, after all, a
dream.

Dolores, in spite of her earnest efforts to fill the void that had been
made in her life, spent a month in tears. A deep despair seemed to have
taken possession of her heart. In vain her adopted parents endeavored to
divert her mind; in vain they concealed their own grief to console her;
in vain they lavished a wealth of tenderness upon her; she would not be
consoled and her silent sorrow revealed a soul peculiarly sensitive to
suffering.

It was Philip who persuaded her to conquer this despondency; for he,
even at a distance, exerted a much more powerful influence over her
than either the Marquis or his wife. His first letter, which arrived
about a month after his departure, was more potent in its effects than
all the efforts of her adopted parents. It was to Dolores that Philip
had written. He described his journey to Paris; the cordial welcome he
had received from the Duke de Penthieore and the Princess de Lamballe,
to whom he had been presented by the Chevalier de Florian; the
condescension this Princess had displayed in taki