greeable and interesting, lovely to behold and such a lady,
and at the same time so perfectly acceptable to his beloved mother and
father. She was in fact so entirely suitable to become the future
Marquise d'Ochte. Had his mother not made a wonderful success as a
marchioness? Were she and Molly not of the same blood and traditions?
True, he did not have for Molly the grand passion that novelists write
of; but a sincere liking might last longer than the so-called grand
passion.

Molly's words brought him upstanding. After all, he did not understand
anything about real love, not as much as this chit of an American girl.
He bowed his head for a moment in deep dejection, and then, shrugging
his shoulders, he smiled into her stern eyes a little wistfully.

"I thank you, Cousin Molly, for your salutary admonishment. You are
right; I do not know what real love means. I have an idea I could learn,
though, with as good a teacher as I am sure you would be. I value your
friendship and liking so much that I am going to ask you to forget that
I have made this stupid proposal and let us continue the good comrades
we have been."

"Oh, Philippe, I have already forgotten it! You must not think I was
severe, but I do like you so much I hated for you to demean yourself."

"There is one thing I should like to ask you, Cousin Molly: how do you
happen to know so much about true love?" And the young man, his
equanimity entirely restored, looked teasingly at his cousin. "Is it
entirely theoretical?"

CHAPTER XVII.

THE GHOST IN THE CHAPEL.

Philippe told his mother of the outcome of his proposal to Molly and
when he repeated her remark about her and her Jean, the good lady shed
tears of remorse that she had encouraged Philippe to want to marry a
girl that she well knew her son did not really and truly love. Molly's
answer made her realize even more than before the fine, true heart of
her little Kentucky cousin, and her regret was very great that Molly was
not to become the bride of her son.

"Ah, my boy, how stupid we have been! Here you and I have gone serenely
on all winter, confident that either one of these lovely girls, Judy or
Molly, was ready to drop like a ripe plum if you but touched the tree.
We never once thought of the damage we might do one of the girls.
Suppose you had engaged the affections of both of them, while you were
deciding which one you wanted the more? Thank goodness, there are no
hearts broken, not ev