as you see, she has a large circle of admirers. All
are called--and nearly all are chosen. That kind of thing costs a good
deal, but--hang it, what can you expect?'

"'And where did she get this name of Samoris?'

"'From the only man perhaps that she ever loved--a Jewish banker from
Berlin who goes by the name of Samuel Morris.'

"'Good. Thanks. Now that I know all about her, and see her sort, I'm
off!'

"What a start there was in the brain of the young girl endowed with all
the instincts of a virtuous woman! What despair overwhelmed that simple
soul! What mental tortures quenched her endless gayety, her delightful
laughter, her exulting satisfaction with life! What a conflict took
place in that youthful heart up to the moment when the last guest had
left! Those were things that Joseph could not tell me. But, the same
night, Yveline abruptly entered her mother's room just as the Comtesse
was getting into bed, sent out the waiting-maid, who was close to the
door, and, standing erect and pale, and with great staring eyes, she
said:

"'Mamma, listen to what I heard a little while ago during the ball.'

"And she repeated word for word the conversation just as I told it to
you.

"The Comtesse was so stupefied that she did not know what to say in
reply, at first. When she recovered her self-possession, she denied
everything, and called God to witness that there was no truth in the
story.

"The young girl went away, distracted but not convinced. And she watched
her mother.

"I remember distinctly the strange alteration that then took place in
her. She was always grave and melancholy. She used to fix on us her
great earnest eyes as if she wanted to read what was at the bottom of
our hearts. We did not know what to think of her, and we used to
maintain that she was looking out for a husband.

"One evening her doubts were dispelled. She caught her mother with a
lover. Thereupon she said coldly, like a man of business laying down the
terms of an agreement:

"'Here is what I have determined to do, mamma: We will both go away to
some little town--or rather into the country. We will live there quietly
as well as we can. Your jewelry alone may be called a fortune. If you
wish to marry some honest man, so much the better; still better will it
be if I can find one. If you don't consent to do this, I will kill
myself.'

"This time, the Comtesse ordered her daughter to go to bed, and never to
administer again this lectur