e pardoned that poor man," said Madame
des Vanneaulx. "Love, and not greed, made him steal the money; he was
neither vicious nor wicked."

"He was full of consideration for us," said Monsieur des Vanneaulx; "and
if I knew where his family had gone I would do something for them. They
are very worthy people, those Tascherons."

X. THIRD PHASE OF VERONIQUE'S LIFE

When Madame Graslin recovered from the long illness that followed the
birth of her child, which was not till the close of 1829, an illness
which forced her to keep her bed and remain in absolute retirement,
she heard her husband talking of an important piece of business he was
anxious to concede. The ducal house of Navarreins had offered for sale
the forest of Montegnac and the uncultivated lands around it.

Graslin had never yet executed the clause in his marriage contract with
his wife which obliged him to invest his wife's fortune in lands; up to
this time he had preferred to employ the money in his bank, where he had
fully doubled it. He now began to speak of this investment. Hearing him
discuss it Veronique appeared to remember the name of Montegnac,
and asked her husband to fulfil his engagement about her property
by purchasing these lands. Monsieur Graslin then proposed to see the
rector, Monsieur Bonnet, and inquire of him about the estate, which
the Duc de Navarreins was desirous of selling because he foresaw the
struggle which the Prince de Polignac was forcing on between liberalism
and the house of Bourbon, and he augured ill of it; in fact, the duke
was one of the boldest opposers of the _coup-d'Etat_.

The duke had sent his agent to Limoges to negotiate the matter; telling
him to accept any good sum of money, for he remembered the Revolution
of 1789 too well not to profit by the lessons it had taught the
aristocracy. This agent had now been a month laying siege to Graslin,
the shrewdest and wariest business head in the Limousin,--the only man,
he was told by practical persons, who was able to purchase so large a
property and pay for it on the spot. The Abbe Dutheil wrote a line to
Monsieur Bonnet, who came to Limoges at once, and was taken to the hotel
Graslin.

Veronique determined to ask the rector to dinner; but the banker would
not let him go up to his wife's apartment until he had talked to him
in his office for over an hour and obtained such information as fully
satisfied him, and made him resolve to buy the forest and domains
of M