s lover
would drive her mad, my poor Fosseuse! I have made a study of her
temperament, recognized the reality of her prolonged nervous attacks,
and of the swift mysterious recurrence of her uplifted moods. I found
that they were immediately dependent on atmospheric changes and on the
variations of the moon, a fact which I have carefully verified; and
since then I have cared for her, as a creature unlike all others, for
she is a being whose ailing existence I alone can understand. As I
have told you, she is the pet lamb. But you shall see her; this is her
cottage."

They had come about one-third of the way up the mountain side. Low
bushes grew on either hand along the steep paths which they were
ascending at a foot pace. At last, at a turn in one of the paths,
Genestas saw La Fosseuse's dwelling, which stood on one of the largest
knolls on the mountain. Around it was a green sloping space of lawn
about three acres in extent, planted with trees, and surrounded by a
wall high enough to serve as a fence, but not so high as to shut out the
view of the landscape. Several rivulets that had their source in this
garden formed little cascades among the trees. The brick-built cottage
with a low roof that projected several feet was a charming detail in the
landscape. It consisted of a ground floor and a single story, and stood
facing the south. All the windows were in the front of the house, for
its small size and lack of depth from back to front made other openings
unnecessary. The doors and shutters were painted green, and the
underside of the penthouses had been lined with deal boards in the
German fashion, and painted white. The rustic charm of the whole little
dwelling lay in its spotless cleanliness.

Climbing plants and briar roses grew about the house; a great walnut
tree had been allowed to remain among the flowering acacias and trees
that bore sweet-scented blossoms, and a few weeping willows had been
set by the little streams in the garden space. A thick belt of pines and
beeches grew behind the house, so that the picturesque little dwelling
was brought out into strong relief by the sombre width of background.
At that hour of the day, the air was fragrant with the scents from the
hillsides and the perfume from La Fosseuse's garden. The sky overhead
was clear and serene, but low clouds hung on the horizon, and the
far-off peaks had begun to take the deep rose hues that the sunset often
brings. At the height which they h