nt that mocked the sadness of her unwholesome dream.

"And yet, in all that crowd of women who salute her, there are some who
are jealous of her! Many envy her!" thought Guy, who was looking on.

Adrienne did not look at Vaudrey. She was afraid that if her eyes met
her husband's fixed on her own, she would lose her sang-froid and
suddenly burst into sobs, there before the guests. That would have been
ridiculous. This blonde, so feebly gentle, isolated herself, therefore,
with surprising determination and seemed to see nothing save her own
thought, the unique thought: "Be strong. You shall weep at your ease
when you are alone, far away from these people, far away from this
crowd, alone with yourself, entirely alone, entirely alone!"

Vaudrey was very pale, but carried away, in spite of himself, by the joy
which he felt in receiving all the illustrious and powerful men of the
state, foreign ambassadors, the Presidents of the Senate and the
Chamber, the ministers, his colleagues, deputies, wealthy financiers,
renowned publicists, in fact, everything that counts and has a name in
Paris,--this minister, happy to see the crowd running to him, at his
house, bowing, paying homage to him, for a moment forgot the crushing
events of that day, the sudden thunderbolt falling on him and perhaps,
as he had said, crushing his hearthstone.

He no longer thought of anything but what he saw: salutations, bowed
heads, inclinations that succeeded each other with the regularity of a
clock, that succession of homages to the little Grenoble advocate, now
become Prime Minister.

Oblivious of everything else, he had lost the recollection of his
mistress, and he suddenly grew pale and looked instinctively with terror
at Adrienne, who was as pale as a corpse.--A visitor had just been
announced by the usher, in his metallic voice, and the name that he
cried mechanically, as he had uttered all the others, echoed there like
an insult.

Guy de Lissac shook through his entire frame, as he too heard it.

"Monsieur Simon Kayser and Mademoiselle Kayser!"--cried the usher.

Still another name rang out from that clarion voice:

"Monsieur le Duc de Rosas!"

Neither Vaudrey nor Adrienne heard this name. Sulpice felt urged to rush
toward Marianne to entreat her to leave. It is true, he had invited her.
In spite of Jouvenet who knew all, and in spite of so many others who
suspected the truth, she desired to be present at that fete at the
ministry and