d him
some money. From that moment the conquest was assured; for M. de Coralth
possessed in an eminent degree all the attributes that were likely to
dazzle and charm the gifted owner of Pompier de Nanterre. First of
all, there was his title, then his impudent assurance and his apparent
wealth, and last, but by no means least, his numerous and fashionable
acquaintances. He was not long in discovering his advantage, and in
profiting by it. And without giving M. Wilkie an inkling of the truth,
he succeeded in obtaining from him as accurate a knowledge of his past
career as the young fellow himself possessed.

M. Wilkie did not know much concerning his origin or his early life; and
his history, so far as he was acquainted with it, could be told in a
few words. His earliest recollection was of the ocean. He was sure,
perfectly sure, that he had made a very long sea voyage when only a
little child, and he looked upon America as his birthplace. The French
language was certainly not the first he had learned, for he still
remembered a limited number of English phrases. The English word
"father" was among those that lingered in his memory; and now, after
a lapse of twenty years, he pronounced it without the least foreign
accent. But while he remembered the word perfectly well, no recollection
remained to him of the person he had called by that name. His first
sensations were those of hunger, weariness, and cold. He recollected,
and very distinctly too, how on one long winter night, a woman had
dragged him after her through the streets of Paris, in an icy rain. He
could still see himself as he wandered on, crying with weariness, and
begging for something to eat. And then the poor woman who held him by
the hand lifted him in her arms and carried him on--on, until her own
strength failed, and she was obliged to set him on the ground again. A
vague portrait of this woman, who was most probably his mother, still
lingered in his memory. According to his description, she was extremely
handsome, tall, and very fair. He had been particularly impressed with
the pale tint and profusion of her beautiful hair.

Their poverty had not lasted long. He remembered being installed with
his mother in a very handsome suite of rooms. A man, who was still
young, and whom he called "Monsieur Jacques," came every day, and
brought him sweetmeats and playthings. He thought he must have been
about four years old at that time. However, he had enjoyed this