Chapter XXII: The La Pincerie Family at the Château

The vagabond’s aspect and suggestions had produced upon Alfred’s mind an effect different from that which that man apparently hoped. Disgusted by the wretch’s hateful propositions, Alfred reflected upon the injustice of his conduct toward Edouard; he felt that he ought not to consider it a crime in him to have triumphed over him; and if Isaure really loved him, he vowed that he would not seek to interfere with his friend’s happiness.

More content with himself after taking this resolution, Alfred, when he saw Edouard again, far from manifesting the same coolness as in the morning, spoke to him as was his habit before their rivalry. Edouard, no less surprised than delighted by this change in Alfred’s humor, felt much happier since he had reason to hope that he had recovered his friend.

The next day Alfred accompanied Edouard; they rode together into the mountains. The young men did not mention Isaure; they seemed equally to dread talking about her. But they approached the valley, they were soon to see her, and Edouard felt a weight at his heart on Alfred’s account. Still he was soon to see her whom he adored; but it is when we are happiest that we would like all those whom we love to share our happiness.

Since the girl had told Edouard that she loved him, she no longer feared to let him see all the pleasure which his presence caused her; she stood in her doorway, awaiting his arrival, because there she was much nearer the road, and could be the sooner in her lover’s arms.

The two horsemen soon espied Isaure; they dismounted, and she walked toward them. Alfred’s presence, far from annoying Isaure, seemed to please her; she received him as graciously as ever, and manifested as much friendship for him; but she had no hesitation in disclosing before him the more tender feeling which bound her to Edouard. In love for the first time, loving with all the sincerity of her years, she thought that she ought not to make a mystery of her love, especially to her lover’s friend.

Alfred responded graciously enough to Isaure’s friendly advances. It was easy for him to see that Edouard had told him the truth, that it was he who possessed the young girl’s heart; but he tried to overcome the chagrin that he felt. The two young men stayed a shorter time than usual with Isaure, for Edouard was not so happy in the presence of Alfred, before whom he did not wish to speak of his love; and Alfred, despite all his efforts, could not succeed in recovering his usual gayety.

"My dear Edouard," said Alfred as they rode back to the château, "hereafter, I shall let you go alone to see Isaure; you are the one she loves, she does not try to conceal it; but really she is so pretty, so fascinating, even with the man whom she is not seeking to please, that despite all my friendship for you, if I should see her often, I would not promise--yes, I should do some crazy thing, and then I should be in despair over it; so it is much better that I should cease to see this girl, or at all events that I should wait until the sight of her makes less impression upon my heart. People say that I am thoughtless and fickle; I pray that I may be as much so as people say, and that I may soon forget!--Well, it is all over; she loves you, and henceforth I propose to think of her only as a sister."

Edouard shook Alfred’s hand affectionately and exclaimed:

"A friend like you and a sweetheart like her! Should not one be the happiest of men with those?"

And yet Edouard sighed as he said this, for he thought of the secret which Isaure concealed from him, and of the unknown obstacle which interfered to prevent his being entirely happy. But Isaure loved him, she had told him so a hundred times; her lips could not know falsehood; the mystery which she concealed from him would undoubtedly soon be cleared up, for she herself had given him that hope; so that he ought to see nothing in the future save the most perfect happiness. Thus did Edouard console himself; to see happiness in the future is much, even though one is destined never to attain it.

On reaching the château, the young men noticed a bustle and a movement there which indicated something new. Robineau had already returned from the town, and they found him in the salon, listening to the verses which Monsieur Férulus was declaiming.

"Congratulate me, messieurs," he cried to his two friends the instant that he caught sight of them; "my wishes have been gratified! I have carried the day over my numerous rivals! In a word, Monsieur le Marquis de la Pincerie has solemnly promised me his daughter’s hand, and has authorized me to look upon myself already as a member of his illustrious family."

"My dear fellow," said Alfred, "as you wish to be congratulated, we will congratulate you; and in fact, now that it is decided, it is the best thing there is to do."

"What! you are going to marry, Monsieur Jules?" said Edouard; "and who is the lady whom you are to marry, pray? There were so many people at your fête that I do not remember----"

"The sister of the pretty woman whom, by the way, you always had on your arm, my dear child of the Muses."

"Ah! I remember now: Mademoiselle Cornélie?"

"Herself. Oh! you could not have helped noticing her! She was so conspicuous! I confess that I am in a state of intoxication, of enchantment!"

"You have reason enough, certainly!" said Alfred. "But do you propose to give a second fête at the château so soon? All your people have such a busy look!"

"It is because they are preparing apartments for my future family, who have consented to pass at my château the time which must still intervene before my wedding. I would have liked to marry at once; but monsieur le marquis, who is a great stickler for form, for propriety, declares that it cannot be done so abruptly. Besides, there are papers to be drawn, and purchases to make,--the wedding gifts which I shall send to Paris for; and in order that all this time may seem less long to us, they are coming to pass it at my château, and to enjoy the pleasures of the country. I expect the whole family this very day.--I trust, messieurs, that henceforth we shall see you here a little more, and that you will not leave the château early in the morning, to return only at dinner time."

"For my part, I promise to wait upon the ladies," said Alfred, "and to be as gallant and as agreeable as I can."

"I dare not promise as much," said Edouard; "I realize that I am a very unentertaining guest, and as you have so much company coming, allow me to leave you."

"Leave us! What! go away before my marriage,--not be present at my wedding? No, I certainly will not allow it! Besides, it would disappoint the ladies; they asked me particularly if my two friends were still at the château, and urged me not to let you go away. So it is decided, you will stay. Oh! we are going to have plenty of sport! We shall hunt. Monsieur le marquis tells me that he loves to hunt. You must teach me to hunt, messieurs; for I admit that I never tried it; but my future bride says that a man should know how to fire a gun, and consequently I propose to become a great hunter."

"Monseigneur," said Férulus, "the arrival of these gentlemen interrupted us; with your permission, I will begin again the poem I have written for your marriage. I have taken for my text this pretty line of Propertius:

"‘_Nec domina ulla meo ponet vestigia lecto._’"

"That is at once gallant and voluptuous. I start----"

"I beg pardon, Monsieur Férulus, but we are starting too; by reading us your verses in advance, you deprive us of all the pleasure of a surprise. Besides, company is coming,--ladies; we must pay a little attention to our toilet."

"That is true," said Robineau; "why, I still have on my travelling coat!--François, come and dress your master."

Alfred and Edouard went in one direction, Robineau in another; Férulus left alone, but determined to recite his poetry to someone, ran after Jeannette, whom he saw in the courtyard, and compelled the poor girl to listen to the whole hundred and forty Alexandrines; after which, chucking her under the chin, he said:

"Well! how dost thou--Mon Dieu! what a _lapsus linguæ_!--How do you like that, Jeannette?"

"Monsieur, I like the lament of Angélique and Médor better."

"You are a fool, Jeannette; and really you are good for nothing but warming beds."

"Ah! By the way, monsieur, you better buy a warming pan; for the fall’s almost here, and if I’ve got to warm beds that way, I should get pretty tired!"

"Hush! I have given you the most agreeable place; perform your duties gracefully, and do not grumble."

The La Pincerie family had promised to reach the château in time for dinner, and about four o’clock the wicker and oilcloth vehicle drove into the courtyard. The father, the uncle, and the two ladies alighted from it; then they took out a multitude of boxes and bundles, and Monsieur de la Pincerie’s rifle, which was so long that it resembled a fowling-piece. Robineau attempted to hurry forward to meet his guests; but at the sight of his future bride his emotion was so great that he dropped into a chair, saying:

"That woman deprives me of the use of my legs. What will it be when I am really her husband?"

Alfred and Edouard offered their hands to the ladies; but at sight of Alfred, Mademoiselle Cornélie, assuming her grand and haughty air, hastily took Edouard’s arm. On her side, the languorous Eudoxie, who had not been satisfied with the young poet’s conduct, seemed to have determined to transfer to Alfred the sentiments which she had manifested for Edouard.

Monsieur le marquis was already intent upon his rifle. Uncle Mignon was ordered to attend to the transportation of the boxes, so that his nieces’ dresses might not receive too much of a shaking. Robineau, who had succeeded in recovering the use of his legs, came forward to receive the company, and escorted them to the salon on the ground floor, saying to Mademoiselle de la Pincerie:

"Pray, come and embellish this abode, of which you will soon be lady and mistress."

But the ladies did not choose to stop in the salon until they had visited the apartments assigned to them and had readjusted their clothes, which they said were disarranged by the drive. Thereupon Monsieur Férulus, who had greeted each member of the family with a honey-sweet expression, came forward and said:

"I shall have the honor of escorting the ladies."

"You, monsieur?" said Eudoxie; "it is very gallant of you, no doubt; but a servant would be much more suitable, for we may have to ask for innumerable things for our toilet, and you understand that it would be unpleasant to ask you for them."

"That is the most perfect logic," replied Férulus with a bow.--Thereupon Robineau called François and said to him:

"Have the honor to escort these ladies to their apartments."

"What! you give us a man for lady’s maid!" cried Cornélie, shrugging her shoulders. "Why, that is ridiculous. Do you expect that this fellow is going to lace us and arrange our hair and dress us?"

"Oh! a thousand pardons! I am absurd!--François, go and call Mademoiselle Cheval."

"Who on earth is Mademoiselle Cheval?" said the widow, with a horrified air. "Mon Dieu! I shall never dare to entrust my head to that woman!"

"Oh! you will be pleased with her; she is my cook, but she is a girl who has all sorts of talent; she will lace you tight."

"Oh! the idea! it’s an outrage! To give us a cook for lady’s maid!" said Cornélie. "Our hair will smell of soup!--I tell you, monsieur, that I will not allow your cook to come near me."

"Why, monseigneur," said Férulus, "you have just the person these ladies need; Jeannette, who came to the château to do everything, and whose hair is as curly as a negro’s."

"That is true! I am so confused, so happy, that I did not think of her. Send for Jeannette."

"At all events," said Madame de Hautmont, "she has a human name."

Jeannette appeared; as François had told her that they were going to give her something to do, she brought her foot-warmer under her arm.

"Jeannette," said Robineau, "you will consider yourself at the orders of these ladies."

"What has she got there?" said Eudoxie; "I believe it is a foot-warmer! Do you take us for old dowagers, my girl, that you bring us that goodwife’s piece of furniture?"

"Oh! it ain’t that, madame," replied Jeannette, with a reverence; "but you see that, as my duty--as I have to warm----"

Monsieur Férulus, who was beside Jeannette, pulled her skirt and pinched her, to make her keep quiet. Luckily Cornélie interrupted her, saying:

"Well, it is all right! Go before us.--Uncle Mignon, have the boxes been carried up?"

"They have," replied Mignon, showing his enormous teeth, "and I have put the pins in the pin-cushion."

The ladies withdrew to their apartments. Monsieur le marquis, who had already expectorated in every corner of the salon, went to inspect his apartment, and Uncle Mignon, who was instructed to attend to all details, went to see if the chariot had been placed in the carriage house and the horse fed.

"How much activity and animation the presence of ladies gives to a house instantly!" said Robineau. "The arrival of the La Pincerie family is going to brighten up this abode tremendously, messieurs. Ah! by the way, monsieur le marquis is very fond of whist; he wants to play every evening; who will play with him?"

"Not I," said Edouard, "for I don’t know the game."

"I know it; but as it bores me, I shall not play!" said Alfred.

"I, monseigneur, flatter myself that I play it correctly," said Férulus.

"Very good, Monsieur Férulus; you, Uncle Mignon and I, if necessary, although I don’t know it very well; no matter, someone will advise me; besides, Mademoiselle Cornélie told me that she was very particular that I should play whist with her father. What a pity that we haven’t so much as a harpsichord here! My fiancée plays the harpsichord, and her sister sings like Orpheus. And there is not the slightest instrument here to accompany the singers!"

"You might send for Monsieur Cheval with his drum."

"None of your poor jokes, Alfred."

"Monseigneur, I play the fife rather well," said Férulus, "and if it would give pleasure to the ladies----"

"We will see, I will suggest it. But they don’t return! Is dinner ready?"

"All ready, monseigneur; my only fear is that it will get cold."

"Oh! you don’t understand, my dear fellow," said Alfred; "I’ll wager that the ladies won’t come down for another hour. You don’t know what it means to make two toilets, especially when they have but one lady’s maid! But here is the uncle; I have not as yet heard him say anything except: ‘Yes, nieces.’--I am curious to find out whether he knows any other sentence."

The uncle, after he had seen his brother’s noble steed attack his grain, joined the company. He entered the room bowing, smiling and hopping; then he looked from one to another without saying a word. But Alfred went to him and said:

"They say that monsieur le marquis is very fond of hunting; you like it too, no doubt, monsieur?"

"Yes, oh, yes! I go hunting," replied Mignon, scratching his nose.

"Are you a good shot?"

"Shot! No! oh, no! I never shoot."

"What on earth do you go hunting for, then?"

"Why, I carry the ladies’ umbrellas."

"What! Do the ladies hunt, too?"

"Oh, yes! Cornélie often brings down hares."

"And her sister?"

"Eudoxie doesn’t shoot, but she follows the hunt; the movement of the horse is very good for her nerves.--Ah! I beg pardon, I think my nieces called me; I may have forgotten a box!"

Mignon hurried from the salon, and Robineau said to his friends:

"You will agree, messieurs, that it would be difficult to find an uncle more attentive! In fact, Cornélie tells me to take him for a model."

"Never fear, Robineau; I assure you that they will train you as well as they have him."

After a long hour, during which Monsieur Férulus did nothing but go from the dining-room to the kitchen, the ladies appeared at last, escorted by Mignon, and followed by the marquis. There was nothing extraordinary in the costumes of the two sisters. Edouard was surprised that they had been able to spend so long a time in making so little change in their dress; but Eudoxie began by saying:

"Don’t look at us, messieurs, we must be perfectly horrid, shocking! That stupid girl has no idea about dressing the hair, and then we feared keeping you waiting. We hurried and have sacrificed all coquetry!"

"In heaven’s name, how long does their toilet last when they take time about it?" whispered Alfred; while Férulus exclaimed:

"It seems to me that I see Venus and Psyche!"

They took their places at the table; this time Alfred was beside Eudoxie. But Edouard was in no wise jealous; he was beside the haughty Cornélie, who deigned sometimes to smile amiably upon him.

"My château is not yet what it will be before long," said Robineau, gazing fondly at his future bride; "but I shall try to make your stay here agreeable; my friends will second me with all their power. Thanks to your presence, mesdames, I fancy that we shall see them here more frequently; for, heaven is my witness, that since we arrived, they have been here very little; early in the morning they leave the house, and do not return until dinner time."

"Are you gentlemen fond of riding?" said Eudoxie.

"The exercise is very healthful," said the marquis; "it’s a pity that one wears out one’s boots and small-clothes. I have been trying for a long time to find something economical to replace them."

"To replace small-clothes, monsieur le marquis?"

"No, only the boots. I believe that I have discovered the ancient foot-gear of the Phoceans; it would be very becoming to those men who have well-shaped legs!"

"It is not simply for the pleasure of riding that these gentlemen scour the country every morning," said Robineau with a mischievous air.

"Do they hunt?" said the marquis.

"No--no--that is to say, they do hunt if you call it so, but it is a sort of game which--which----"

"Pray explain yourself, monsieur!" said Cornélie; "we do not understand you."

"It seems to me, Monsieur de la Roche-Noire," said Edouard, "that these ladies are hardly likely to care about knowing where we go."

"Ha! ha! Look, mesdames, the poet is blushing already!" replied Robineau, laughing; "it is well that you should know that we have a sorceress in the neighborhood."

"A sorceress," exclaimed Eudoxie in dismay, while Mignon ceased to play with his fork for a moment and looked at Robineau.

"A sorceress," said Cornélie, with a scornful air; "bah! I don’t believe in sorceresses myself!"

"You understand, mesdames, that it is simply a figure of speech."

"No matter," said Eudoxie; "if she tells fortunes, I shall go to consult her; where does she live?"

"About two leagues from here, in a pretty little valley surrounded by mountains, near the village of Chadrat."

"She should have an owl, a screech owl, and a black cat," said Mignon.

"I have seen none of those things," said Alfred, with a smile; "but by way of compensation, she has the loveliest eyes in the world, teeth as white as snow, and an extremely sweet voice."

"Oh! mon Dieu! what a portrait!" cried Cornélie spitefully; "it would seem that monsieur has looked at her very closely."

"Is she a young girl, then?" said Eudoxie.

"Yes, mesdames," replied Robineau, "she is rather a good-looking young girl, although I see nothing extraordinary about her; a peasant, a goatherd, in fact, who, according to what the peasants hereabout say, casts spells upon animals; and I am inclined to think that she has cast one upon these gentlemen."

"Aha! so she’s a young girl," rejoined Eudoxie, glancing at Alfred; "and it is to her side that these gentlemen bend their steps? I begin to understand."

"Well, I do not understand at all what pleasure one can take in talking to goatherds," said Cornélie disdainfully.

"If you had heard her speak, mademoiselle," said Edouard, "you would consider us very pardonable. She is not a mere peasant like the other girls one meets in these mountains; she is a young woman with refined and gracious manners, a keen and delicate wit, a sweet and touching voice, who expresses herself as well as one who has received the best education."

"Oh, monsieur! how warm you get!" said Cornélie with a satirical air. "You are this extraordinary damsel’s true knight, I see!"

"I do her justice, mademoiselle; that is all."

"I beg pardon, monsieur," said Eudoxie; "but if this goatherd is really such a person as you describe, she must indeed be a sorceress; for I should like to know who could have taught her to talk and express herself differently from the other country girls? unless she has not always lived here in the mountains, unless she is a deserted Ariadne."

"The deduction is extremely judicious!" said Férulus; "she cannot have learned without a teacher; and except my boarding-school, which she never attended, I know of no masters of arts in this neighborhood."

"I agree, mesdames," said Alfred, "that there is, in truth, something hard to explain in respect to this girl; but in my opinion that adds to the charm of her personality."

"The charm of a cowherd! She must be most seductive!" said Cornélie, with a sarcastic smile.

"Mademoiselle," said Edouard, "pray have a little compassion for a person whom you do not know!"

"Oh! I see that one would be very ill-advised to speak ill of her before you, messieurs! I leave you your shepherdess! But I confess that I should never have suspected that two young men of such excellent tone could be attracted by such a rustic character!"

"For my part, I say that we must see her in order to form a just estimate of her," said the marquis; "I shall go hunting in that direction."

"Monsieur le marquis is right," said Férulus; "we should not speak without knowledge. Everybody talks about the fair Helen, but few people know that she had five husbands: Theseus, Menelaus, Paris, Deiphobus and Achilles; that she was hanged in the Isle of Rhodes by the women servants of Polyxo; and that, during the war of which she was the cause, eight hundred and eighty-six thousand men died on the side of the Greeks and six hundred and seventy-six thousand on the side of the Trojans."

"Oh! mon Dieu! he has got onto history again!" said Eudoxie to Alfred.

"Monsieur," said Cornélie to Férulus, "Greek and Roman names make my ears ache; pray talk to us about more modern things."

Monsieur Férulus bowed and swallowed a glass of burgundy, to wash down this little snub. Meanwhile, Robineau, to demonstrate his affection to his future bride, tenderly pressed her foot with his; but Mademoiselle Cornélie gave a little shriek and exclaimed:

"Dear me! who is treading on my foot like that? Is it you, monsieur?"

Robineau turned crimson and stammered:

"Yes, I confess that I wanted to make you understand----"

"I don’t like to have people tread on my feet! You hurt me terribly! I beg that you won’t do it again."

Robineau, covered with confusion, looked at the floor, uncertain whether he should or should not throw himself at Cornélie’s feet; at last, to relieve himself from his embarrassment, he turned the conversation once more upon the subject of Isaure.

"To return to the young girl of the mountains, mesdames, the most surprising thing about her is that she lives all alone near a place which is the terror of the people of the next village. That place is a house called the White House."

"Why, what happens in the White House, pray?" asked Eudoxie.

"What happens there!" replied Robineau; "oh! nobody knows; but it seems clear that something happens there. It is uninhabited and yet lights are seen in it; sounds are heard and yet no person is seen! That is very strange, is it not?"

"It is terrifying," said Mignon.

"It is utterly absurd," said Cornélie.

"However, mesdames, the said shepherdess is the only person who is not afraid of the White House, and she lives close beside it. That is rather surprising for a young girl, eh?"

"A clever trick!" said Eudoxie; "of course her lover lives in the house, and she knows very well that he isn’t the devil."

"Her lover!" exclaimed Edouard; and, struck by the widow’s suggestion, he suddenly became pale, and trembled visibly.

"Oh! mon Dieu! how you frighten me, monsieur!" said Cornélie; "I thought that you had an attack of hysteria."

"I beg pardon, mademoiselle, but I don’t know--I had a sudden flush."

"No one would have suspected it, for you are as pale as a ghost!"

"Come, come, my dear Edouard," said Alfred, who had observed his friend’s perturbation, "let us drop the White House, which does not deserve so much of our attention, and let us drink a glass of champagne to the health of these ladies."

As he spoke, he tried with his eyes to tranquillize and reassure Edouard, who soon recovered himself, realizing that he was foolish to be disturbed by a word spoken at random by someone who had never seen Isaure. But that cruel word had wounded him to the heart.

To put an end to a conversation which was painful to him, and to revenge himself in some measure upon Robineau, Edouard said to him:

"But, Monsieur de la Roche-Noire, do you, who are so well acquainted with everything curious or extraordinary in the neighborhood, do you know all that your own château contains?"

"My château? Why, now it contains a most illustrious family, and some most adorable ladies!"

"That is very well, but it is not all; you are unaware, I see, that there is a phantom, a ghost in this old château!"

"A ghost under my roof!" cried Robineau, changing color in his turn.

"A ghost!" repeated all the members of the La Pincerie family; and Uncle Mignon, in his terror, dropped upon his knees the cup of coffee he was just putting to his lips.

"Faith, I knew nothing about it," said Alfred.

"Nonsense, it is a joke, a piece of mischief on Monsieur Edouard’s part," rejoined Robineau, making an effort to smile.

"No, indeed; that is, if we are to believe your servants; for I confess, for my own part, that I have seen nothing; but your groom declares that the North Tower is visited at night by a phantom; and Vincent, your gardener, claims to have met in the garden, in the evening, a mysterious personage who fled at his approach. That at least is what François, your valet, told me, and he asked me if it were I who had been in the tower and in the garden at night."

Robineau, seeing that Edouard was speaking seriously, could not conceal the emotion which this news caused him.

"What!" he cried, "my servants have seen all this and have said nothing to me about it! You know so many things, Monsieur Férulus--how does it happen that you did not know this?"

"Monseigneur," said Férulus, "I had had wind of these vague rumors; but it seemed to me that it was useless to mention them to you until I was certain that there was something extraordinary in them."

"Why useless, pray? Am I not the owner of this château? Should I not be told first of everything that happens here?"

"_Recte dicis_, monseigneur; but no thief has entered the château, since nothing has been stolen. In that case it must have been a ghost that they saw. But are there ghosts? That is the question. The Egyptians, the Gauls, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths affirm----"

"Monsieur Férulus, this is not a question of Ostrogoths! I want an explanation of what my servants saw that was extraordinary.--François, tell my groom and my gardener to come here; summon the concierge too, and the whole household, that will be the best way."

François went off to collect his fellows, while Cornélie said to Robineau:

"Really, monsieur, you display an interest, an eagerness, in this matter!--I can well believe that you do not believe in ghosts! Ah! mon Dieu! a cowardly man is a pitiful creature!"

"Certainly, mademoiselle, my courage is well known; my friends can tell you that we passed the night in the mountains, in a wretched hovel, the door of which had no lock."

"Yes, mademoiselle," observed Alfred, "and that night La Roche-Noire did some things--which I would not have done."

"To be sure," said Robineau, compressing his lips. "As for ghosts, I do not believe in them the least in the world. But I propose to find out why my servants presume to spread reports which are utterly absurd."

"Oh! yes, monsieur," said Eudoxie; "we must find out what it is, for I am afraid of everything; and it would be a shameful thing to bring us to a château inhabited by ghosts."

"Indeed, it would be dishonorable," said Uncle Mignon in an undertone, as he followed the company, who left the table to repair to the salon, where all the servants soon arrived in a body, in accordance with their master’s orders.

"Which of you is it who saw something or somebody at night in the North Tower?" asked Robineau, perching himself gracefully in a large easy-chair, while the ladies and the two young men talked together on an enormous couch at a little distance.

The servants looked at one another for some time without replying; at last Benoît stepped forward and said:

"I believe it was me, monseigneur."

"You see! he is uncertain about it already," said Férulus; "_oculos habent et non videbunt_!"

"Monsieur Férulus," said Robineau testily, "why do you speak Latin to my people? You know very well that they don’t understand it! Parbleu! if I chose, I could speak Latin to them too; and even cookery Latin, which would be much more within their reach."

"Monseigneur, I was quoting a passage of Scripture."

"You are a terrible man with your passages! But, when one is with ladies, one should never use a dead language."

Férulus bowed, and seated himself in a corner of the salon, whence he ogled Jeannette. Robineau resumed his examination.

"Tell me, Benoît, what it was that frightened you?"

"Frightened! Oh! I wasn’t frightened, monseigneur! I was just surprised, that’s all!"

"He is lying like a tooth-puller!" cried Mademoiselle Cheval; "he was so frightened that when he told us about it the next day he was still as pale as a turnip."

"Yes," said Cunette, who was standing behind his comrades, because he had dined and did not feel very firm upon his legs, which fact he was terribly afraid that his master would discover; but which did not prevent his persisting in talking all the time. "Yes, he was frightened! He pretends to be brave, and he hasn’t any marrow in his bones!"

"Hold your tongue, you others, and let Benoît speak.--What was it you saw at night?"

"Monseigneur," said Benoît, "I was at my window because I couldn’t sleep."

"Well, you ought to sleep," said Cunette. Robineau made a threatening gesture and the concierge said no more.

"I happened to look at the old tower, where no one lives, and I saw a light in the windows on top."

"In the first place, there ain’t any windows on top, because the platform’s there," said Cunette under his breath.

"What did that light do?" inquired Robineau with keen interest.

"What did it do! It went back and forth; and then I didn’t see it any more, monseigneur."

"Which one of you has been in the old tower at night with a candle, my men?"

"Not me," said all the servants in chorus.

"In that case, this is very peculiar," said Robineau.--"And you, Vincent, whom did you meet in the garden?"

The gardener came forward with his customary air of ill humor, wearing his livery which was hardly recognizable, it was so stained and covered with dirt, and exclaimed:

"Who did I meet? Pardi! If I knew who it was, it would be all right; but you see I don’t know."

"You ought to have called for help, and to have arrested the person who dared to walk in my garden at night without my permission."

"Oho! I ought to have done that! I can’t do everything all alone! Besides, I couldn’t run, my clothes are too tight for that!"

"How is this? Is this your livery, ruined like this already, Monsieur Vincent?"

"You shouldn’t give me a color so easy to dirt, master, if you want me to plant and dig and water flowers; that’s the trouble!"

"My friends," continued Robineau, addressing his servants, "as you don’t know just what it was that frightened you, I will let it go at that for to-day; but the next time that you hear anything, or see anything suspicious in the château, I order you to find out instantly what it is, under pain of being discharged; because I do not choose that anyone in my service shall be afraid.--Go."

All the servants took their leave, and Robineau walked toward the ladies, saying:

"It seems to me that I talked to them rather decidedly."

"It seems to me, monsieur, that you have made a great deal of noise over nothing," said Cornélie.

"I am not so brave as my sister," said Madame de Hautmont, "and I am sure that I shall dream to-night of imps and will-o’-the-wisps, in spite of myself. And then, too, this château has such a Gothic appearance! In pity’s name, Monsieur de la Roche-Noire, do not give us rooms very far from these gentlemen, for if I should hear anything in the night, if I should be afraid, who would come to my assistance?"

"Have no fear, madame," said Alfred, "my room also opens on the large gallery; my door is almost opposite yours; at the slightest sound I shall hasten to offer you my services."

"Ah! that is very nice, monsieur; I place myself under your safeguard, under your protection!"

Cornélie glanced furtively at her sister and Alfred, saying in an undertone:

"How convenient it is to be afraid!"

To afford an agreeable diversion to the guests, Monsieur Férulus came forward with his poem, and proposed to read it. But the dinner had lasted until late in the evening. The La Pincerie family was fatigued. Monsieur le marquis was already beginning to snore in his armchair, and they concluded that it was preferable to send him to snore in his bed. Everybody retired, each one armed with a candle, the light of which gleamed like a minute point in the vast corridors of the château. One after another, each light disappeared; and just as happens when paper is consumed by fire, all those luminous streaks vanished and left absolute darkness behind.