n him afterwards.

"Confound it," thought he, "I am the proprietor. They all say so.
Instead of which I feel like a thief. Fancy her getting so fond of a
PLACE as all this."

Presently it occurred to him that the shortness of the notice might
have much to do with her distress. "These notaries," said he to himself,
"understand nothing save law: women have piles of baggage, and can't
strike tents directly the order comes, as we can. Perhaps if I were to
give them twenty-four days instead of hours?--hum!"

With this the commandant fell into a brown study. Now each of us has his
attitude of brown study. One runs about the room like hyena in his den;
another stands stately with folded arms (this one seldom thinks to the
purpose); another sits cross-legged, brows lowered: another must put
his head into his hand, and so keep it up to thinking mark: another must
twiddle a bit of string, or a key; grant him this, he can hatch an epic.
This commandant must draw himself up very straight, and walk six paces
and back very slowly, till the problem was solved: I suspect he had done
a good bit of sentinel work in his time.

Now whilst he was guarding the old oak-tree, for all the world as if
it had been the gate of the Tuileries or the barracks, Josephine de
Beaurepaire came suddenly out from the house and crossed the Pleasaunce:
her hair was in disorder, her manner wild: she passed swiftly into the
park.

Raynal recognized her as one of the family; and after a moment's
reflection followed her into the park with the good-natured intention of
offering her a month to clear out instead of a day.

But it was not so easy to catch her: she flew. He had to take his
scabbard in his left hand and fairly run after her. Before he could
catch her, she entered the little chapel. He came up and had his foot on
the very step to go in, when he was arrested by that he heard within.

Josephine had thrown herself on her knees and was praying aloud: praying
to the Virgin with sighs and sobs and all her soul: wrestling so in
prayer with a dead saint as by a strange perversity men cannot or will
not wrestle with Him, who alone can hear a million prayers at once from
a million different places,--can realize and be touched with a sense
of all man's infirmities in a way no single saint with his partial
experience of them can realize and be touched by them; who unasked
suspended the laws of nature that had taken a stranger's only son, and
she a widow; a