ant visits which had degenerated into reproaches and
recriminations.

Medicines and physicians were powerless in presence of this
organic wasting away, the cause of which could not be discovered.
It sometimes seemed as if the old man's heart had ceased to beat;
then the pulsations were resumed with an alarming irregularity.

A custom existed in those days of publicly exhibiting the works
of the masters. The heads of the various corporations sought to
distinguish themselves by the novelty or the perfection of their
productions; and it was among these that the condition of Master
Zacharius excited the most lively, because most interested,
commiseration. His rivals pitied him the more willingly because
they feared him the less. They never forgot the old man's
success, when he exhibited his magnificent clocks with moving
figures, his repeaters, which provoked general admiration, and
commanded such high prices in the cities of France, Switzerland,
and Germany.

Meanwhile, thanks to the constant and tender care of Gerande and
Aubert, his strength seemed to return a little; and in the
tranquillity in which his convalescence left him, he succeeded in
detaching himself from the thoughts which had absorbed him. As
soon as he could walk, his daughter lured him away from the
house, which was still besieged with dissatisfied customers.
Aubert remained in the shop, vainly adjusting and readjusting the
rebel watches; and the poor boy, completely mystified, sometimes
covered his face with his hands, fearful that he, like his
master, might go mad.

Gerande led her father towards the more pleasant promenades of
the town. With his arm resting on hers, she conducted him
sometimes through the quarter of Saint Antoine, the view from
which extends towards the Cologny hill, and over the lake; on
fine mornings they caught sight of the gigantic peaks of Mount
Buet against the horizon. Gerande pointed out these spots to her
father, who had well-nigh forgotten even their names. His memory
wandered; and he took a childish interest in learning anew what
had passed from his mind. Master Zacharius leaned upon his
daughter; and the two heads, one white as snow and the other
covered with rich golden tresses, met in the same ray of
sunlight.

So it came about that the old watchmaker at last perceived that
he was not alone in the world. As he looked upon his young and
lovely daughter, and on himself old and broken, he reflected that
after his de