o or
three times, never announcing her name; then she did not reappear. She
might be Madame Duval--I can't say.'

"'But did you never hear his Excellency speak of the real Duval after
that time?'

"'No--non mi ricordo--I don't remember.'

"'Nor of some living Madame Marigny, though the real one was dead?'

"'Stop, I do recollect; not that he ever named such a person to me, but
that I have posted letters for him to a Madame Marigny--oh, yes! even
years after the said petite Marigny was dead; and once I did venture to
say, 'Pardon me, Eccellenza, but may I ask if that poor lady is really
dead, since I have to prepay this letter to her?'"

"'Oh,' said he, 'Madame Marigny! Of course the one you know is dead, but
there are others of the same name; this lady is of my family. Indeed,
her house, though noble in itself, recognises the representative of mine
as its head, and I am too bon prince not to acknowledge and serve any
one who branches out of my own tree.'"

"A day after this last conversation on the subject, Leporello said to
me: 'My friend, you certainly have some interest in ascertaining what
became of the lady who took the name of Marigny (I state this frankly,
Monsieur, to show how difficult even for one so prudent as I am to beat
about a bush long but what you let people know the sort of bird you are
in search of).

"'Well,' said I, 'she does interest me. I knew something of that Victor
de Mauleon, whom his Excellency did not wish to quarrel with; and it
would be a kindly act to her relation if one could learn what became of
Louise Duval.'

"'I can put you on the way of learning all that his Excellency was
likely to have known of her through correspondence. I have often heard
him quote, with praise, a saying so clever that it might have been
Italian, "Never write, never burn;" that is, never commit yourself by
a letter--keep all letters that could put others in your power. All the
letters he received were carefully kept and labelled. I sent them to his
son in four large trunks. His son, no doubt, has them still.'

"Now, however, I have exhausted my budget. I arrived at Paris last
night. I strongly advise you to come hither at once, if you still desire
to prosecute your search.

"You, Monsieur, can do what I could not venture to do; you can ask the
son of Don Juan if, amid the correspondence of his father, which he may
have preserved, there be any signed Marigny or Duval--any, in
short, which can throw l