econd suddenly grew serious, and left off
drilling his hole in the grass. Rose neither heard the warning of Madame
Danville, nor noticed the alteration in Lomaque. She was looking round
at her brother, and was waiting with a bright, affectionate smile to
hear his answer. He nodded, as if to reassure her, before he spoke again
to Danville.

"You have rather romantic ideas about experiments in chemistry," he
said, quietly. "Mine have so little connection with what you call the
occult arts that all the world might see them, if all the world thought
it worth while. The only Elixirs of Life that I know of are a quiet
heart and a contented mind. Both those I found, years and years ago,
when Rose and I first came to live together in the house yonder."

He spoke with a quiet sadness in his voice, which meant far more to his
sister than the simple words he uttered. Her eyes filled with tears; she
turned for a moment from her lover, and took her brother's hand. "Don't
talk, Louis, as if you thought you were going to lose your sister,
because--" Her lips began to tremble, and she stopped suddenly.

"More jealous than ever of your taking her away from him!" whispered
Madame Danville in her son's ear. "Hush! don't, for God's sake, take any
notice of it," she added, hurriedly, as he rose from the seat and faced
Trudaine with undisguised irritation and impatience in his manner.
Before he could speak, the old servant Guillaume made his appearance,
and announced that coffee was ready. Madame Danville again said "Hush!"
and quickly took one of his arms, while he offered the other to Rose.
"Charles," said the young girl, amazedly, "how flushed your face is, and
how your arm trembles!"

He controlled himself in a moment, smiled, and said to her: "Can't you
guess why, Rose? I am thinking of to-morrow." While he was speaking, he
passed close by the land-steward, on his way back to the house with
the ladies. The smile returned to Monsieur Lomaque's lean face, and a
curious light twinkled in his red-rimmed eyes as he began a fresh hole
in the grass.

"Won't you go indoors, and take some coffee?" asked Trudaine, touching
the land-steward on the arm.

Monsieur Lomaque started a little and left his cane sticking in the
ground. "A thousand thanks, monsieur," he said; "may I be allowed to
follow you?"

"I confess the beauty of the evening makes me a little unwilling to
leave this place just yet."

"Ah! the beauties of Nature--I feel them