t indeed it seemed to
accord as ill with his natural inclination as did the restitution of the
100,000 livres. However, he brought them to me the following day, and
as I was expecting the arrival of madame de Mirepoix, I placed them in a
porcelain vase which stood upon my chimney-piece. Unfortunately for
the marechale, comte Jean presented himself before she did. He came to
inform me, that my husband (of whose quitting Toulouse I had forgotten
to tell you) had again arrived in Paris. I did not disguise the vexation
which this piece of intelligence excited in me.

"And wherefore has comte Guillaume returned to Paris?" inquired I,
angrily.

"Because he is afraid."

"Afraid of what?" replied I.

"Of being murdered," answered comte Jean: "it is a most horrible and
authentic story. Imagine to yourself the dangers of his situation: some
brigands, who have a design on his life, have written him an anonymous
billet, in which they protest they will certainly murder him, unless he
deposits 50,000 livres in a certain place. You may suppose his terror;
money he had none, neither was his credit sufficiently good to enable
him to borrow any. As a last and only chance, he threw himself into a
carriage, and hastened, tremblingly, to implore your assistance."

"And I am quite certain you will not withhold yours from him," answered
I

"You are perfectly right," cried he, "but unfortunately just now I have
not a single crown I can call my own; so that it rests with you alone,
my dearest sister, to save the life of this hapless comte du Barry."

"I am extremely distressed, my dear brother-in-law," replied I, "that I
am just as poor, and as unable to afford the necessary aid as yourself;
my purse is quite empty."

"Faith, my dear sister-in-law, I am not surprised at that if you convert
a china vase into a receptacle for your bank notes."

Saying this, he drew a bundle of notes from the hiding-place in which I
had deposited them. "Do you know," continued comte Jean, "I really think
we shall find money enough here." He began to count them: and when he
had finished he said, "My dear sister, neither your husband nor myself
wish to importune you, or put you to any inconvenience, therefore
you shall merely oblige him with the loan of these 50,000 livres to
extricate him from his present peril; they shall be faithfully and
quickly restored to you, and a note of hand given you for that purpose
if you desire it." So saying, he divided the