fear so
far as he was concerned. And lo! instead of the crushed, discredited
man, a representative of the nation towered before him, a deputy whose
figure in stone Parisians thronged to admire; for, from the Oriental
sovereign's standpoint, as that public exhibition necessarily involved
the idea of conferring honor upon the subject, that bust had all the
prestige of a statue overlooking a public square. Hemerlingue, even
yellower than usual, inwardly accused himself of bungling and
imprudence. But how could he have suspected such a thing? He had been
assured that the bust was not finished. And, indeed, it had arrived that
very morning, and seemed overjoyed to be there, quivering with gratified
pride, expressing contempt for its enemies with the good-natured smile
of its curling lip. A veritable silent revenge for the disaster at
Saint-Romans.

For several minutes the bey, as cold and impassive as the carved image,
stared at it without speaking, his forehead divided by a straight fold
wherein his courtiers alone could read his wrath; then, after a few
words spoken rapidly in Arabic, to order his carriages and collect his
scattered suite, he strode gravely toward the exit, without deigning to
look at anything else. Who can say what takes place in those august
brains, surfeited with power? Even our western monarchs have
incomprehensible whims; but they are as nothing beside Oriental
caprices. Monsieur l'Inspecteur des Beaux-Arts, who had confidently
expected to show his Highness all over the Exhibition, and to earn
thereby the pretty little red and green ribbon of the Order of
Nicham-Iftikhar, never knew the secret of that sudden flight.

Just as the white haiks disappeared under the porch, and just in time to
catch a glimpse of the fluttering of their last folds, the Nabob entered
through the centre door. That morning he had received the news: "Elected
by an overwhelming majority;" and, after a sumptuous breakfast, at which
many a toast had been drunk to the new Deputy for Corsica, he had come
with some of his guests, to show himself, to see himself as well, and to
enjoy his new glory to the full.

The first person he saw when he arrived was Felicia Ruys, leaning
against the pedestal of a statue, receiving compliments and homage with
which he hastened to mingle his own. She was dressed simply, in a black
embroidered gown trimmed with jet, tempering the severe simplicity of
her costume by its scintillating reflections a