erness and their father, Nathalie
hesitated no longer. Seizing upon one of her husband's frequent
absences, she completely dissolved her establishment, told the furious,
vile-tongued Frenchwoman quite calmly that her services were no longer
necessary; and, that evening, with her children, two servants, and her
personal effects, disappeared, absolutely, beyond the ken of Prince or
police.

In Moscow she took a small apartment, in a quiet quarter of the city;
and there, masking her unhappiness behind an habitual languor, strove
heroically to readjust herself to life. Finally, as the result of a
momentary, rebellious impulse, the period of her friendship with Ivan
began. Neither of the two had been quite prepared for the after-effects
of their first quiet and commonplace meeting. Nevertheless when, on the
following Sunday, Ivan's card was brought to her in her little _salon_,
he was not refused. His cousin greeted him placidly, and he made speedy
friends with the two quaint children whom he found with her, and who
served thenceforward to keep the facts of her existence always in
evidence; but who could not, unfortunately, prevent the existence of
secret emotions, either in their mother or in the beloved new "uncle"
who proved such a mine of sweetmeats and toys.

After Ivan's first call, Nathalie found herself grappling with the
question as to whether he must be absolutely dismissed, or merely held
at arm's-length. Into this discussion pride entered so largely that she
presently determined to do neither thing; but to conceal her own
impotence beneath an armor of cousinliness. Thenceforth Ivan found
himself, at first to his delight, later to his baffled chagrin, treated
with an informal friendliness, a guileless intimacy, that perfectly
answered its designer's purpose, though the helpless recipient chafed,
rebelled, stayed away, suffered agonies of jealous rage, and finally,
one blustery day, presented himself again in the _Gagarinesky_, wrapped
in a manner impenetrably suave and bland. He had read her at last; and
was satisfied. Thus, their companionship entered upon its best period.
Intellectually it was perfect. Sentimentally, though decorum was never
transgressed, there came for each certain minutes of unavoidable
revelation that were eminently satisfactory to the other. And in time
their intimacy reached a point where Ivan began actually to confide
musically in her:--a woman!

The twilight hours which he spent at the