o offer an opinion, but will you not consider a moment before
fixing on such a fate for your child? She is surely very young
to be thrown amongst strangers, on such a doubtful career,
especially without you at hand to protect her."

"It is true I shall not be there," said the father with a
groan; "I had forgotten that. And I shall never see my little
one grown up. Ah! what is to become of her?"

"Has she no relations?" said Graham, "in England for instance----"

"In England!" cried M. Linders fiercely, "what could make you
fancy that?"

"I had understood that her mother was English----" began Graham.

"You are right, Monsieur; her mother was English, but she has
no English relations, or, if she has, they are nothing to her,
and she shall never know them. No," he said slowly, after a
pause, "I suppose there is only one thing to be done, and yet
I would almost rather she lay here dead by my side, that we
might be buried together in one grave; it would perhaps be
happier for her, poor little one! Ah, what a fate! but it must
be--you are right, I cannot send her out alone and friendless
into the world, she must go to her aunt."

"She has an aunt, then?" said Graham, with some surprise.

"Yes, Monsieur, she has an aunt, my sister Therese, with whom
I quarrelled five and twenty years ago, and whom I have
cordially hated ever since; and if ever woman deserved to be
hated, she does;" and indeed, though he had not mentioned his
sister's name for years, the very sound of it seemed to revive
the old enmity in all its fresh bitterness. "She lives near
Liege," he went on presently. "She is the Superior of a
convent there, having risen to that eminence through her
superior piety and manifold good works, doubtless. Mon Dieu!"
he cried, with another of his sudden impotent bursts of
passion and tenderness, "that it should have come to this,
that I should shut up my little one in a convent! And she will
be miserable--she will blame me, she will think me cruel; but
what can I do? what can I do?"

"But it seems to me the best thing possible," said Graham,
who, in truth, was not a little relieved by this sudden and
unexpected solution of all difficulties. "So many children are
educated in convent, and are very happy there; she will be
certainly well taught and cared for, and you must trust to
your sister for the future."

"Never!" he said, half raising himself on his elbow with a
mighty effort. "Well taught!--yes, I know the s