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an attitude, "that under the shelter of my name Madame Marneffe is not called upon to answer for her conduct excepting as my wife--as Madame Crevel?" "That is, no doubt, quite the correct thing," said the lawyer; "very generous so far as the affections are concerned and the vagaries of passion; but I know of no name, nor law, nor title that can shelter the theft of three hundred thousand francs so meanly wrung from my father!--I tell you plainly, my dear father-in-law, your future wife is unworthy of you, she is false to you, and is madly in love with my brother-in-law, Steinbock, whose debts she had paid." "It is I who paid them!" "Very good," said Hulot; "I am glad for Count Steinbock's sake; he may some day repay the money. But he is loved, much loved, and often--" "Loved!" cried Crevel, whose face showed his utter bewilderment. "It is cowardly, and dirty, and mean, and cheap, to calumniate a woman!--When a man says such things, monsieur, he must bring proof." "I will bring proof." "I shall expect it." "By the day after to-morrow, my dear Monsieur Crevel, I shall be able to tell you the day, the hour, the very minute when I can expose the horrible depravity of your future wife." "Very well; I shall be delighted," said Crevel, who had recovered himself. "Good-bye, my children, for the present; good-bye, Lisbeth." "See him out, Lisbeth," said Celestine in an undertone. "And is this the way you take yourself off?" cried Lisbeth to Crevel. "Ah, ha!" said Crevel, "my son-in-law is too clever by half; he is getting on. The Courts and the Chamber, judicial trickery and political dodges, are making a man of him with a vengeance!--So he knows I am to be married on Wednesday, and on a Sunday my gentleman proposes to fix the hour, within three days, when he can prove that my wife is unworthy of me. That is a good story!--Well, I am going back to sign the contract. Come with me, Lisbeth--yes, come. They will never know. I meant to have left Celestine forty thousand francs a year; but Hulot has just behaved in a way to alienate my affection for ever." "Give me ten minutes, Pere Crevel; wait for me in your carriage at the gate. I will make some excuse for going out." "Very well--all right." "My dears," said Lisbeth, who found all the family reassembled in the drawing-room, "I am going with Crevel: the marriage contract is to be signed this afternoon, and I shall hear what he has settled. It will
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