of the circumstances by which they were all
surrounded. Youth and beauty and love cannot always feast upon
themselves. They must perforce return to the stark realities of life.
They spoke of the war and of all the miseries attendant upon it--the
sufferings of the poor, the privations of the sick, the anxieties of
parents, the pangs of absence, the rigours of the cold, and the terrible
sacrifices which even the commonest soldier is obliged to make. The two
girls listened with tears as Cary graphically recounted his experiences,
which, though relieved at times by touches of humor, were profoundly
sad. Then Zulma, in eloquent language and passionate gestures, gave her
view of the situation. Pauline was mostly silent. Her role was to
receive the confidences of others, rather than to communicate her own.
At times, in the march of discourse, the veil of the future was timidly
raised, but immediately dropped again, with an instinctive shrinking of
the three young hearts. That far they durst not look. The present was
more than sufficient for them to bear. A gentle, merciful Providence
would provide for the rest.

Who can gauge the effect upon the participants of this interview, in
such a place, at such an hour, and amid so many singular circumstances?
It was deep, searching, and ineffaceable, and the sequel of our history
will show that most of its culminating events were directly traceable to
this memorable evening.

When M. Belmont stepped forward with Batoche, he at once addressed
himself to Cary Singleton, asking his advice on the subject of the
conference just held in the alcove. The young officer, after blushing
and faltering at the suddenness of the appeal, replied in a manly
fashion that, although he was an apostle of liberty with pistol and
sabre, and entirely devoted to the cause, even to the shedding of his
heart's blood, he could not presume upon giving advice to such a man as
M. Belmont. He was too young, for one thing, and, for another, he was
not sufficiently acquainted with the circumstances of the case. He
added, glancing with ardour at the two fair girls beside him, that they
would be better able to determine the question, Mademoiselle Belmont
taking counsel of her father's welfare, and Mademoiselle Sarpy speaking
for the benefit of her dearest friend. Thus appealed to, Zulma declared
promptly that she had no opinion on the advisability of M. Belmont
remaining out of the town, but that if he resolved upon do