artment. You see, she is in no way connected with you, nearly or
remotely; and good sense and politeness, to say nothing of gratitude,
make it your duty to leave her in peace."

He gave the Colonel a shove, in his turn, and made him tumble between
the arms of a sofa.

Fougas bounded up as if he had been thrown on a million springs. But
Clementine stopped him, with a gesture and a smile.

"Monsieur," said she in her most caressing voice, "do not get angry with
him; he loves me."

"So much the more reason why I should! Damnation!"

He cooled down, nevertheless, made the young lady sit down beside him,
and regarded her from head to foot with the most absorbed attention.

"This is surely she," said he. "My memory, my eyes, my heart, everything
in me, recognizes her, and tells me that it is she. And nevertheless the
testimony of mankind, the calculation of times and distances, in a word,
the very soul of evidence, seems to have made it a special point to
convict me of error.

"Is it possible, then, that two women should so resemble each other?
Am I the victim of an illusion of the senses? Have I recovered life
only to lose reason? No; I know myself, I find myself the same; my
judgment is firm and accurate, and can make its way in this world
so new and topsy-turvy. It is on but one point that my reason
wavers--Clementine!--I seem to see you again, and you are not you! Well,
what's the difference, after all? If the Destiny which snatched me from
the tomb has taken care to present to my awaking sense the image of her
I loved, it must be because it had resolved to give me back, one after
another, all the blessings which I had lost. In a few days, my
epaulettes; to-morrow, the flag of the 23d of the line; to-day this
adorable presence which made my heart beat for the first time! Living
image of all that is sweetest and clearest in the past, I throw myself
at your feet! Be my wife!"

The devil of a fellow joined the deed to the word, and the witnesses of
the unexpected scene opened their eyes to the widest. But Clementine's
aunt, the austere Mlle. Sambucco, thought that it was time to show her
authority. She stretched out her big, wrinkled hands, seized Fougas,
jerked him sharply to his feet, and cried in her shrillest voice:

"Enough, sir; it is time to put an end to this scandalous farce! My
niece is not for you; I have promised her and given her away. Know that,
day after to-morrow, the 19th of this month, at ten o'cl