letter which he held in his hand, and quietly withdrawing
the other to point to the words that had brought out the passionate
declaration he had but just made to her.

"See here! After a few lines about my uncle Valricour, this is what my
father says. You do not know him as well as I do, but you see he is
not one to allow any silly notions about fortune or noble descent to
stand in the way of what he believes to be right."

Marguerite took the letter, and though still trembling with excitement,
managed to read as follows:

"And now, my dear son, I must allude to a very different matter.
Madame de Valricour writes to me that you have lost your heart, and
that although for reasons, which, she says, she quite understands, you
have not made it known, she thinks it time that I should intervene. I
think so too; and I do so the more willingly as I doubt not that your
reticence and hesitation in this matter has arisen from a natural
feeling that I might be opposed to your union with one who is not your
equal in point of rank, and who will not, I fancy, bring you a sou in
the way of marriage portion. Well, I will ease your mind at once. To
you, and therefore to me, money can be no object. As an old soldier
myself I might well be content to receive as my daughter-in-law even
one who could boast of no higher title than that of a brave soldier's
daughter; in any case, your wife will be the Marquise de Beaujardin,
so, assuming that Madame de Valricour is correct in her supposition, I
see no reason why I should go out of my way to thwart a son who has
ever deserved my affection, and has proved himself likewise to be
worthy of the name of a good soldier."

The letter dropped from her hands. "Isidore, Isidore! what have you
done?" said she in a tone that had in it no trace of the delight he had
anticipated. "O Isidore! your fond heart has blinded you. What shall
I do? Isidore, you have brought ruin on your dear self, and all for
me!"

Astonished and disconcerted at this unexpected outburst, Isidore would
have endeavoured to calm her, but as he took her hand in his she
uttered a slight cry, and on looking round he beheld Madame de
Valricour standing only a few paces from them, regarding them
apparently with speechless amazement.

However much the young marquis might have lost his self-possession when
he and Marguerite were the only actors in the scene, the appearance of
Madame de Valricour at once brought back his usual