of a lover, we could have sent him to travel
in Germany while his affairs were being settled here. Monsieur de
Kergarouet intended to get him a place in the War office; but this
imprisonment for debt will paralyze such efforts. You must pay his
debts; let him enter the navy; he will make his way like the true
Portenduere that he is; he has the fire of the family in his beautiful
black eyes, and we will all help him.

Do not be disheartened, madame; you have many friends, among whom I
beg you to consider me as one of the most sincere; I send you our best
wishes, with the respects of

Your very affectionate servant, Emilie de Kergarouet.

The second letter was as follows:--

Portenduere, August, 1829.

To Madame de Portenduere:

My dear aunt,--I am more annoyed than surprised at Savinien's pranks.
As I am married and the father of two sons and one daughter, my fortune,
already too small for my position and prospects, cannot be lessened to
ransom a Portenduere from the hands of the Jews. Sell your farm, pay his
debts, and come and live with us at Portenduere. You shall receive
the welcome we owe you, even though our views may not be entirely in
accordance with yours. You shall be made happy, and we will manage to
marry Savinien, whom my wife thinks charming. This little outbreak is
nothing; do not make yourself unhappy; it will never be known in this
part of the country, where there are a number of rich girls who would be
delighted to enter our family.

My wife joins me in assuring you of the happiness you would give us,
and I beg you to accept her wishes for the realization of this plan,
together with my affectionate respects.

Luc-Savinien, Comte de Portenduere.

"What letters for a Kergarouet to receive!" cried the old Breton lady,
wiping her eyes.

"The admiral does not know his nephew is in prison," said the Abbe
Chaperon at last; "the countess alone read your letter, and has answered
it for him. But you must decide at once on some course," he added after
a pause, "and this is what I have the honor to advise. Do not sell your
farm. The lease is just out, having lasted twenty-four years; in a few
months you can raise the rent to six thousand francs and get a premium
for double that amount. Borrow what you need of some honest man,--not
from the townspeople who make a business of mortgages. Your neighbour
here is a most worthy man; a man of good society, who knew it as it was
before the Revolution, who