pt
it."

"This is very strange; I am afraid I scarcely understand you," broke he
in.

"Very probably not, sir; but I will endeavor to explain my meaning. From
the circumstances I narrated to you awhile ago, and from others which
it is unnecessary for me to enter upon, I have arrived at the conclusion
that Clara and I must separate. She has reached an age in which either
her admissions or her inquiries might prove compromising. My object
would therefore be to part with her in such a manner as might exclude
our meeting again, and my plan was to enter her as a pupil at the
Conservatoire, either at Bologna or Milan, having first selected some
one who would assume the office of her guardian, as it were, replacing
me in my authority over her. If her talents and acquirements were such
as to suit the stage, I trusted to the effect of time and the influence
of companionship to reconcile her to the project."

"And may I ask, madam, have you selected the person to whom this
precious treasure is to be confided?--the guardian, I mean."

"I have seen him and spoken with him, sir, but have not yet asked his
acceptance of the trust."

"Shall I be deemed indiscreet if I inquire his name?"

"By no means, sir. He is a gentleman of well-known character and repute,
and he is called--Mr. Stocmar."

"Surely, madam, you cannot mean me?" cried he, with a start.

"No other, sir. Had I the whole range of mankind to choose from, you
would be the man; you embrace within yourself all the conditions the
project requires; you possess all the special knowledge of the subject;
you are a man of the world fully competent to decide what should be
done, and how; you have the character of being one no stranger to
generous motives, and you can combine a noble action with, of course, a
very inadequate but still some personal advantage. This young lady
will, in short, be yours; and if her successes can be inferred from her
abilities, the bribe is not despicable."

"Let us be explicit and clear," said Stocmar, drawing his chair closer
to her, and talking in a dry, businesslike tone. "You mean to constitute
me as the sole guide and director of this young lady, with full power to
direct her studies, and, so to say, arbitrate for her future in life."

"Exactly," was the calm reply.

"And what am I to give in return, madam? What is to be the price of such
an unlooked-for benefit?"

"Secrecy, sir,--inviolable secrecy,--your solemnly sworn pledge that