stones, his patch of ground was now worth its weight in
gold. Several years previously, no doubt, he had offered Seguin the
enclosure for a trifle; but times had changed, and he now crowed loudly
over the other's folly in not entertaining his previous offer.

On the other hand, there seemed little likelihood of his turning the
enclosure to account himself, for he was more disgusted than ever with
the tilling of the soil. His disposition had been further embittered by
the birth of a daughter, whom he would willingly have dispensed with,
anxious as he was with respect to his son Antonin, now a lad of twelve,
who proved so sharp and quick at school that he was regarded by the
folks of Janville as a little prodigy. Mathieu had mortally offended
the father and mother by suggesting that Antonin should be sent to
an agricultural college--a very sensible suggestion, but one which
exasperated them, determined as they were to make him a gentleman.

As Lepailleur would not part with his enclosure on any reasonable terms,
Seguin had to content himself for the time with selling Mathieu the
selected marshland on the plateau. A deed of conveyance having been
prepared, they exchanged signatures. And then, on Seguin's hands,
there still remained nearly two hundred and fifty acres of woods in
the direction of Lillebonne, together with the moorlands stretching to
Vieux-Bourg, in which Lepailleur's few acres were enclosed.

It was on the occasion of the visits which he paid Seguin in reference
to these matters that Mathieu became acquainted with the terrible
break-up of the other's home. The very rooms of the house in the Avenue
d'Antin, particularly the once sumptuous "cabinet," spoke of neglect
and abandonment. The desire to cut a figure in society, and to carry the
"fad" of the moment to extremes, ever possessed Seguin; and thus he
had for a while renounced his pretended artistic tastes for certain new
forms of sport--the motor-car craze, and so forth. But his only real
passion was horseflesh, and to this he at last returned. A racing stable
which he set up quickly helped on his ruin. Women and gaming had been
responsible for the loss of part of his large fortune, and now horses
were devouring the remainder. It was said, too, that he gambled at the
bourse, in the hope of recouping himself for his losses on the turf, and
by way, too, of affecting an air of power and influence, for he allowed
it to be supposed that he obtained informatio