tures. The Lord have
mercy upon them! thought I; and for the world to come, I hope my prayer
may have been heard--but it was of no avail for this!

"Well, madame, my first fear was, that the count would return and find
him there, for well I knew there would be bloodshed if they met; so
without answering his questions, I entreated him to go away instantly to
my mother's, promising that I would follow him presently, and tell him
every thing; but this very request, together with the agitation and
terror he saw me in, made him suspect the truth at once; and, seizing my
arm with such violence that I bore the marks of his poor fingers for
many a day afterward, he asked me if she was married. 'She is,' said I:
'she thought you were dead; she had no money left; and you know it was
her father's dying injunction that--' 'Married to the Spaniard--to Ruy
Gonzalez?' said he, with such a face, the Lord deliver me!" (and the old
woman paused for a moment, as if to recover from the pain of the
recollection.) "'Yes,' said I, 'to Ruy Gonzalez; and if he sees you
here, he'll kill you!' 'Let him.' said he. 'But it will be her death,'
said I; 'and she's--she's'--I hadn't the heart to go on. 'What?' said
he. 'In the family way--near her confinement,' I answered. He clenched
his two fists, and clapped them on his forehead. 'I must see her,' said
he. 'Impossible,' I answered; 'he never leaves her for a moment.' 'Where
are they now?' he asked. 'Out driving,' said I. 'In a dark-blue
carriage?' 'Yes; and I expect them every minute. Go, go, for the Lord's
sake, go to my mother's!' 'I saw the carriage,' said he, with a bitter
smile. 'It passed me just this side of Noirmoutier. Little I
thought'--and his lip quivered for a moment, and his features were
convulsed with agony. 'I will, I must see her,' continued he; 'and you
had better help me to do it, or it will be the worse for us all. Hide me
in her room; he does not sleep there, I suppose?' 'No,' I replied; 'but
he goes there often to talk to her when she is dressing.' 'Put me in the
closet,' said he, 'there's room enough for me to crouch down under the
book-shelves. You can then tell her; and when he has left her for the
night, you can let me out.' 'My God!' I cried, my knees beginning to
shake under me, 'I hear the carriage; they'll be here in an instant!'
'Do as you like!' said he, seeing the advantage this gave him; 'if you
won't help me to see her, I'll see her without you. I shall stay where