en I recall?"

"Oh! sire, something which is greater than and superior to the kings
even--the world and public opinion. Reflect for a moment; you cannot
love a woman who has been ignominiously driven away--love one whom your
mother has stained with suspicions; one whom your sister has threatened
with disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy of you."

"Unworthy! one who belongs to me?"

"Yes, sire, precisely on that account; from the very moment she belongs
to you, the character of your mistress renders her unworthy."

"You are right, Louise; every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.
Very well, you shall not be exiled."

"Ah! from the tone in which you speak, you have not heard Madame, that
is very clear."

"I will appeal from her to my mother."

"Again, sire, you have not seen your mother."

"She, too!--my poor Louise! every one's hand, then, is against you."

"Yes, yes, poor Louise, who was already bending beneath the fury of
the storm, when you arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
displeasure."

"Oh! forgive me."

"You will not, I know, be able to make either of them yield; believe me,
the evil cannot be repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence,
or to exercise your authority."

"Very well, Louise, to prove to you how fondly I love you, I will do one
thing, I will see Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will
compel her to do so."

"Compel? Oh! no, no!"

"True; you are right. I will bend her."

Louise shook her head.

"I will entreat her, if it be necessary," said Louis. "Will you believe
in my affection after that?"

Louise drew herself up. "Oh, never, never shall you humiliate yourself
on my account; sooner, a thousand times, would I die."

Louis reflected; his features assumed a dark expression. "I will love
you as much as you have loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have
suffered; this shall be my expiation in your eyes. Come, mademoiselle,
put aside these paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great as
our sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other." And, as he
said this, he took her in his arms, and encircled her waist with both
his hands, saying, "My own love! my own dearest and best beloved, follow
me."

She made a final effort, in which she concentrated, no longer all of
her firmness of will, for that had long since been overcome, but all her
physical strength. "No!" she replied, weakly, "no! no! I should die from
sha