. Suddenly she arose. Without
stopping to put on her dressing-gown, she lighted a candle by the
night-lamp, pushed the bolt of her door and then went to the windows, the
space between them forming a rather deep projection on account of the
thickness of the walls. A portrait of the Duke of Bordeaux hung there;
she raised it and pressed a button concealed in the woodwork. A panel
opened, showing a small empty space. The shelf in this sort of closet
contained only a rosewood casket. She opened this mysterious box and took
from it a package of letters, then returned to her bed with the eagerness
of a miser who is about to gaze upon his treasures.

Had she not struggled and prayed? Had she not offered upon the tyrannical
altar of duty as an expiation, tears, pale cheeks and a tortured soul?
Had she not just taken a solemn vow, in the presence of God and herself,
which should protect her against her weakness? Was she not a virtuous
wife, and had she not paid dearly enough for a moment of sad happiness?
Was it a crime to breathe for an instant the balmy air of love through
the gratings of this prison-cell, the doors of which she had just locked
with her own hand? Admirable logic for loving hearts, which, not being
able to control their feelings, suffer in order to prove themselves less
guilty, and clothe themselves in haircloth so that each shudder may cause
a pain that condones the sin!

Being at peace with herself, she read as women read who are in love;
leaning her head upon her hand, she drew out the letters, one by one,
from her bosom where she had placed them. She drank with her heart and
eyes the poison these passionate words contained; she allowed herself to
be swayed at will by these melodies which lulled but did not benumb. When
one of those invincible appeals of imploring passion awoke all the echoes
of her love, and ran through her veins with a thrill, striking the
innermost depths of her heart, she threw herself back and imprinted her
burning lips upon the cold paper. With one letter pressed to her heart,
and another pressed to her lips, she gave herself up completely,
exclaiming in an inaudible voice: "I love thee! I am thine!"

The next morning, when Aline entered her sister-in law's room, according
to her usual custom, the latter was not obliged to feign the
indisposition she had planned; the sensations of this sleepless night had
paled her cheeks and altered her features; it would have been difficult
to imag