in our parts. She had about twenty thousand francs
a year. All the town was at the wedding; the bride was pretty and
sweet-looking, quite a gem of a woman. Oh, they were a handsome couple
in their day!'

"'And were they happy together?'

"'Hm, hm! so-so--so far as can be guessed, for, as you may suppose, we
of the common sort were not hail-fellow-well-met with them.--Madame de
Merret was a kind woman and very pleasant, who had no doubt sometimes to
put up with her husband's tantrums. But though he was rather haughty, we
were fond of him. After all, it was his place to behave so. When a man
is a born nobleman, you see----'

"'Still, there must have been some catastrophe for Monsieur and Madame
de Merret to part so violently?'

"'I did not say there was any catastrophe, sir. I know nothing about
it.'

"'Indeed. Well, now, I am sure you know everything.'

"'Well, sir, I will tell you the whole story.--When I saw Monsieur
Regnault go up to see you, it struck me that he would speak to you about
Madame de Merret as having to do with la Grande Breteche. That put it
into my head to ask your advice, sir, seeming to me that you are a
man of good judgment and incapable of playing a poor woman like me
false--for I never did any one a wrong, and yet I am tormented by my
conscience. Up to now I have never dared to say a word to the people of
these parts; they are all chatter-mags, with tongues like knives. And
never till now, sir, have I had any traveler here who stayed so long in
the inn as you have, and to whom I could tell the history of the fifteen
thousand francs----'

"'My dear Madame Lepas, if there is anything in your story of a nature
to compromise me,' I said, interrupting the flow of her words, 'I would
not hear it for all the world.'

"'You need have no fears,' said she; 'you will see.'

"Her eagerness made me suspect that I was not the only person to whom
my worthy landlady had communicated the secret of which I was to be the
sole possessor, but I listened.

"'Monsieur,' said she, 'when the Emperor sent the Spaniards here,
prisoners of war and others, I was required to lodge at the charge
of the Government a young Spaniard sent to Vendome on parole.
Notwithstanding his parole, he had to show himself every day to the
sub-prefect. He was a Spanish grandee--neither more nor less. He had
a name in _os_ and _dia_, something like Bagos de Feredia. I wrote his
name down in my books, and you may see it if you like.