ney from me. I was not surprised, in spite of her distress;
for the mother was in reality still more charming than the daughter, and
she knew it. I ought to have given her the preference, and thus have
ended the dispute, but who can account for his whims? I felt that she
must hate me, for she did not care for her daughter, and it must have
humiliated her bitterly to be obliged to regard her as a victorious
rival.

I left them still holding the six double louis, which pride or scorn had
refused, and I went to the faro-table and decided in sacrificing them to
fortune; but that capricious deity, as proud as the haughty widow,
refused them, and though I left them on the board for five deals I almost
broke the bank. An Englishman, named Martin, offered to go shares with
me, and I accepted, as I knew he was a good player; and in the course of
eight or ten days we did such good business that I was not only able to
take the casket out of pledge and to cover all losses, but made a
considerable profit in addition.

About this period, the Corticelli, in her rage against me, had told
Madame d'Urfe the whole history of her life, of our acquaintance, and of
her pregnancy. But the more truthfully she told her story so much the
more did the good lady believe her to be mad, and we often laughed
together at the extraordinary fancies of the traitress. Madame d'Urfe put
all her trust in the instructions which Selenis would give in reply to
her letter.

Nevertheless, as the girl's conduct displeased me, I made her eat her
meals with her mother, while I kept Madame d'Urfe company. I assured her
that we should easily find another vessel of election, the madness of the
Countess Lascaris having made her absolutely incapable of participating
in our mysterious rites.

Before long, d'Ache's widow found herself obliged to give me her Mimi;
but I won her by kindness, and in such a way that the mother could
pretend with decency to know nothing about it. I redeemed all the goods
she had pawned, and although the daughter had not yet yielded entirely to
my ardour, I formed the plan of taking them to Colmar with Madame d'Urfe.
To make up the good lady's mind, I resolved to let that be one of the
instructions from the moon, and this she would not only obey blindly but
would have no suspicions as to my motive.

I managed the correspondence between Selenis and Madame d'Urfe in the
following manner:

On the day appointed, we supped together in a garde