e. In his business,
as well as his leisure hours, he loved to surround himself with
beautiful things.

Few, save a few old friends, knew anything of his family or
antecedents. The name suggested a Greek origin, although of course
most of his enemies would have it that he was a pure Jew. His fine,
clear-cut features, however, had no affinity to those of that
celebrated race.

He smiled kindly at the young man, and shook hands cordially with him:
he had the greatest respect for all persons connected directly with
the arts. After a few commonplace remarks, he asked for the letter.

Nello handed it to him, and at the same time showed him the glittering
Order of St. Louis.

"This is one of the few things my poor old friend had in his
possession when he died in that poor house in Dean Street, Baron. I
have no doubt, in my own mind, that he was once a man of position and
distinction."

The Baron glanced at the Order, and nodded his head. It was evident
common persons did not come into possession of such valuable things.
Then he opened the letter, and read.

When he had perused it and laid it down on the desk in front of him, a
strangely soft expression had come over his fine, intellectual face.

"My poor old friend Jean!" he murmured in a low voice. "How very
strange! I believed him dead long ago. There was a rumour that he had
been shot in those terrible days of the Commune. Poor Jean! My once
dear friend Jean!"

"I am right in saying that the name of Peron was assumed?" asked Nello
timidly.

The Baron bent his keen glance on him. "You know absolutely nothing of
his real history?"

"For the purposes of identification, nothing, sir. The only thing that
he ever let drop was that long ago he had been a pianist of eminence.
That I could well believe, for even at the age at which I knew him,
his touch was that of a master."

"Ah, that is all you could gather. Well, my poor old friend was always
a little fond of mystery. His real name was Jean Villefort, and he was
one of the finest and most successful artists of his generation. You
are a musician yourself; you must have heard of him, although, of
course, he was long before your time."

Yes, Nello had heard of him as one of the great masters of the past.
"Then he must have amassed a great fortune, Baron. How came it that he
died so poor and friendless?"

The Baron spoke slowly, in a musing tone, as if following the thread
of his recollections. "Yes, he made plent