peace has
descended upon your troubled soul, you will bravely fulfil the promise
you have made, as befits an honest man. This is my request."

Philip shook his head.

"What is to be your fate?" he inquired.

"If I ever leave this prison, or rather, if I escape the guillotine, I
shall go to some foreign land and there, resuming the vocation to which
I have consecrated myself, I shall pass the remainder of my life in a
convent where I shall pray for you. But I shall not take the vows of
eternal seclusion from the world; and if, some day, you feel strong
enough to endure my presence without danger to your peace of mind, I
will see you again, Philip, and give your children a second mother by
the renewal of my friendship with Antoinette."

"I refuse to obey you! No; I will not marry Antoinette, and since you
would compel me to do so, she shall decide what course I ought to
pursue. I will tell her all; I will tell her that we love each other,
that we have always loved each other."

"Hush!" said Dolores, beseechingly; "she must never know--you have no
right to reveal a secret that is as much mine as it is yours."

Their conversation had lasted some time. The yard and the hall that
opened into it were beginning to fill with the inmates of the prison.
They came down from their cells by no means certain that evening would
find them still alive; and yet this uncertainty did not mar the serenity
of their features or of their minds. Several, on passing Philip and
Dolores, looked at them with evident curiosity, as if anxious to know
the theme of such an animated conversation.

"I must return to Antoinette," said Dolores. "I will bring her down with
me, and I entreat you, in the name of your love, to say nothing that
will cause her pain. There is no haste. We are in prison, and, in spite
of Coursegol's efforts, none of us may succeed in making our escape. An
act of accusation may fall upon one of us, if not upon all three of us,
at any moment. What the future has in store for us we do not know, but
let us not embitter the present by reproaches and differences. Let us
live here, as we lived at Chamondrin, in perfect harmony, encouraging
and sustaining one another in our misfortunes, so we can endure them
cheerfully, and wait with patience until time shall solve this
difficulty for us."

"What energy you possess!" replied Philip, gladly accepting this
proposal, since it gave him a gleam of hope.

Dolores left him to go to An