r the magic spot under the chesnut trees,
where dream and reality were once so magically blended. I threw myself
under the waving branches, and on the spot which Clementine's foot had
once hallowed by its touch. Love and sadness weighed me down, and I
kissed the sacred ground which had then borne all that the world
contained most dear to me.

In vain, alas! I looked for the angelic vision. I left the delightful
spot when evening approached, and only the rocky summits of the
Sevennes reflected the sun's golden rays over the dusky plain.

My uncle Etienne and the pious mother, with my cousins, Maria, Antonia,
and Susanna, received me with affecting joy. I embraced them all
speechlessly and rapturously, and knew not who expressed the greatest
affection for me, or whom I most loved. I was the son and brother of
the family; I felt at home, and was the joy of them all.

"Yes," said my uncle, with emotion, "you are the joy of us all, and the
hope of our church. All the reports from Montpellier have praised your
industry, and have expressed the esteem your teachers entertain for
you. Continue, Colas, to strengthen yourself, for our sufferings are
great, and the affliction of the true believers knows no end. God
calls you to become his chosen instrument to break the power of
Antichrist, and to raise triumphantly the gospel now trodden in the
dust."

The fears of my uncle had been particularly increased of late by the
harsh expressions of the governor of the province against the secret
Protestants. The Mareschale de Montreval resided in Nismes, and was
the more powerful and formidable as he possessed the unbounded
confidence of the king. His threats against the Calvinists spread from
mouth to mouth, and were the common talk even of the boys in the street.

I was harassed by another care. In vain had I wandered daily up and
down the street in which the house of M. Albertas was situated; in vain
had I loitered in the amphitheatre; Clementine was nowhere to be seen.

One morning I met the old servant who had entertained me, by the orders
of Madame de Sonnes, in the chateau. He recognised me joyfully, shook
me by the hand, and told me, among a thousand other things, that Madame
de Sonnes and her daughter had left Nismes for some months, but had
gone to Marseilles to seek relief from their sorrow for the loss of a
beloved daughter and sister, in the amusements of that great commercial
city.

My hopes of seeing Cle