saint, kindly. "You
shall be conducted to her." And one of the aides stepped forward to
perform the office of introducer.

Monsieur Bayou pulled from his pocket, on his way to the window, a
shagreen jewel-case; and, by the time he was in front of Madame he had
taken from it a rich gold chain, which he hung on her neck, saying, with
a voice and air strangely made up of jocoseness, awkwardness, and
deference--

"I have not forgotten, you see, though I suppose you have, what you gave
me, one day long ago. I tried to bring back something prettier than I
carried away--something for each of you--but--I don't know--I find
everything here so different from what I had any idea of--so very
strange--that I am afraid you will despise my little presents."

While speaking, he shyly held out little parcels to Genifrede and Aimee,
who received them graciously, while their mother replied--

"In those old days, Monsieur Bayou, we had nothing really our own to
give; and you deserved from us any aid that was in our power. My
daughters and I now accept with pleasure the tokens of friendship that
you bring. I hope no changes have taken place which need prevent our
being friends, Monsieur Bayou."

He scarcely heard her.

"Is it possible," cried he, "that these can be your girls? Aimee I
might have known--but can this lady be Genifrede?"

Genifrede looked up with a smile, which perplexed him still further.

"I do not know that I ever saw a smile from her before; and she would
not so much as lift up her head at one of my jokes. One could never
gain her attention with anything but a ghost story. But I see how it
is," he added, stooping, and speaking low to her mother, while he
glanced at Moyse--"she has learned at last the old song that she would
not listen to when I wanted to tell her fortune:--

"`Your heart's your own this summer day;
To-morrow 'twill be changed away.'

"And Aimee--is she married?"

"Aimee is a widow--at least, so we call her," said her mother, smiling.
"Isaac (you remember Placide and Isaac)--her brother Isaac is all the
world to her; and he is far away."

Aimee's eyes were full of tears in a moment; but she looked happy, as
she always did when Isaac was spoken of as her own peculiar friend.

"I was going to ask about your boys," said Bayou. "The little fellow
who used to ride the horses to water, almost before he could walk
alone--he and his brothers, where are they?"

"Denis is with his tutor