there must be some
resemblance between this beautiful tree and himself. He contemplated
with the eyes of proprietorship the terrace planted with superb lindens,
and he decided that he would establish himself in his Maisons chateau,
that his pretty Cormeilles villa would merely be his country-seat. As
it may be seen, his imagination refused him nothing; it placed happiness
and wealth untold at his command.

We are unable to state whether Mme. de Lorcy actually had an apoplectic
temperament; the one thing certain is, that she was not dead. Samuel
Brohl perceived her from afar on the veranda, which she had just stepped
out upon in order to watch for his arrival. He had forgotten himself in
the park, which should one day be his park, and she was beginning to be
uneasy about his coming.

She cried out to him: "At last! You always make us wait for you,"
adding, in a most affable tone, "We meet to-day under less tragic
circumstances than the last time you were here, and I hope you will bear
away a pleasanter remembrance of Maisons."

He respectfully kissed her hand, saying: "Happiness must be purchased; I
cannot pay too dearly for mine."

She ushered him into the _salon_, where he had scarcely set foot, when
he descried an old woman lounging on a _causeuse_, fanning herself as
she chatted with Abbe Miollens. He remained motionless, his eyes fixed,
scarcely breathing, cold as marble; it seemed to him that the four walls
of the _salon_ swayed from right to left, and left to right, and that
the floor was sliding from under his feet like the deck of a pitching
vessel.

The previous day, Antoinette once departed, Mme. de Lorcy had resumed
her attack on Princess Gulof, and the princess had ended by consenting
to delay her departure, to dine with the adventurer of the green eyes,
and to subject him to a close scrutiny. There she was; yes, it was
indeed she! The first impulse of Samuel Brohl was to regain the door as
speedily as possible; but he did nothing of the kind. He looked at Mme.
de Lorcy: she herself was regarding him with astonishment; she wondered
what could suddenly have overcome him; she could find no explanation for
the bewilderment apparent in his countenance. "It is a mere chance," he
thought at last; "she has not intentionally drawn me into a snare." This
thought was productive of a sort of half relief.

"_Eh bien!_ what is it?" she asked. "Has my poor _salon_ still the
misfortune to be hurtful to you?"

He p