erament, he
wearied of a yoke which had been imposed so early, and, anxious to
see the world and enjoy some freedom, he one day took advantage of
a domestic difference, in which Bertrande owned herself to have been
wrong, and left his house and family. He was sought and awaited in vain.
Bertrande spent the first month in vainly expecting his return, then she
betook herself to prayer; but Heaven appeared deaf to her supplications,
the truant returned not. She wished to go in search of him, but the
world is wide, and no single trace remained to guide her. What torture
for a tender heart! What suffering for a soul thirsting for love! What
sleepless nights! What restless vigils! Years passed thus; her son was
growing up, yet not a word reached her from the man she loved so much.
She spoke often of him to the uncomprehending child, she sought to
discover his features in those of her boy, but though she endeavoured to
concentrate her whole affection on her son, she realised that there is
suffering which maternal love cannot console, and tears which it cannot
dry. Consumed by the strength of the sorrow which ever dwelt in her
heart, the poor woman was slowly wasting, worn out by the regrets of the
past, the vain desires of the present, and the dreary prospect of the
future. And now she had been openly insulted, her feelings as a mother
wounded to the quirk; and her husband's uncle, instead of defending and
consoling her, could give only cold counsel and unsympathetic words!

Pierre Guerre, indeed, was simply a thorough egotist. In his youth he
had been charged with usury; no one knew by what means he had become
rich, for the little drapery trade which he called his profession did
not appear to be very profitable.

After his nephew's departure it seemed only natural that he should pose
as the family guardian, and he applied himself to the task of increasing
the little income, but without considering himself bound to give any
account to Bertrande. So, once persuaded that Martin was no more, he
was apparently not unwilling to prolong a situation so much to his own
advantage.

Night was fast coming on; in the dim twilight distant objects became
confused and indistinct. It was the end of autumn, that melancholy
season which suggests so many gloomy thoughts and recalls so many
blighted hopes. The child had gone into the house. Bertrande, still
sitting at the door, resting her forehead on her hand, thought sadly of
her uncle's wor