pressed it adoringly as he led her
to the recess of a window.

"Are you happy?" he said in a fatherly voice.

"Yes," she said, dropping her eyes.

Hearing that "Yes," Madame de Troisville, the daughter of the Princess
Scherbellof, and the old Marquise de Casteran came up and joined the
chevalier, together with Mademoiselle Armande. They all went to walk in
the garden until dinner was served, without any perception on the part
of Madame du Bousquier that a little conspiracy was afoot. "We have her!
now let us find out the secret of the case," were the words written in
the eyes of all present.

"To make your happiness complete," said Mademoiselle Armande, "you ought
to have children,--a fine lad like my nephew--"

Tears seemed to start in Madame du Bousquier's eyes.

"I have heard it said that you were the one to blame in the matter, and
that you feared the dangers of a pregnancy," said the chevalier.

"I!" she said artlessly. "I would buy a child with a hundred years of
purgatory if I could."

On the question thus started a discussion arose, conducted by Madame
de Troisville and the old Marquise de Casteran with such delicacy and
adroitness that the poor victim revealed, without being aware of it,
the secrets of her house. Mademoiselle Armande had taken the chevalier's
arm, and walked away so as to leave the three women free to discuss
wedlock. Madame du Bousquier was then enlightened on the various
deceptions of her marriage; and as she was still the same simpleton she
had always been, she amused her advisers by delightful naivetes.

Although at first the deceptive marriage of Mademoiselle Cormon made a
laugh throughout the town, which was soon initiated into the story of
the case, before long Madame du Bousquier won the esteem and sympathy
of all the women. The fact that Mademoiselle Cormon had flung herself
headlong into marriage without succeeding in being married, made
everybody laugh at her; but when they learned the exceptional position
in which the sternness of her religious principles placed her, all the
world admired her. "That poor Madame du Bousquier" took the place of
"That good Mademoiselle Cormon."

Thus the chevalier contrived to render du Bousquier both ridiculous and
odious for a time; but ridicule ends by weakening; when all had said
their say about him, the gossip died out. Besides, at fifty-seven years
of age the dumb republican seemed to many people to have a right to
retire. This affai