th Chloe lately, and the good negress has
not been proof against her wiles, and has taught her the secret of the
kitchen lock. I shall talk to Chloe to-morrow. But, meantime, I must
follow madame.

But should I? I know what she is doing in the garden. She is wandering
round and round that grave. If I saw her I could not be any surer of the
fact, and I would but reveal my own suspicions to her by showing myself
as a spy. No; I will remain here in the shadows of the kitchen, and wait
for her to return. The watch may be weird, but no weirder than that of a
previous night. Besides, it will not be a long one; the air is too
chilly outside for her to risk a lengthy stay in it. I shall soon
perceive her dark figure glide in through the doorway.

And I did. Almost before I had withdrawn into my corner I heard the
faint fall of feet on the stone without, then the subdued but
unmistakable sound of the opening door, and lastly the locking of it and
the hasty tread of footsteps as she glided across the brick flagging and
disappeared into the hall beyond.

"She has laid the ghost of her unrest for to-night," thought I.
"To-morrow it will rise again." And I felt my first movement of pity for
her.

Alas! does that unrest spring from premeditated or already accomplished
guilt? Whichever it may be--and I am ready to believe in either or
both--she is a burdened creature, and the weight of her fears or her
intentions lies heavily upon her. But she hides the fact with consummate
address, and when under the eyes of people smiles so brightly and
conducts herself with such a charming grace that half the guests that
come and go consider her as lovely and more captivating than her
daughter. What would they think if they could see her as I do rising in
the night to roam about a grave, the unmarked head-stone of which
baffles her scrutiny?

* * * * *

OCTOBER 18, 1791.

This morning I rose at daybreak, and going into the garden, surveyed the
spot which I had imagined traversed by Madame Letellier the night
before. I found it slightly trampled, but what interested me a great
deal more than this was the fact that, on a certain portion of the
surface of the stone I have so often mentioned, there were to be seen
small particles of a white substance, which I soon discovered to be wax.

Thus the mystery of her midnight visit is solved. She has been taking an
impression of what, in her one short glimpse o