justified by any
of the scandals which in the provinces betray those passions that are
difficult to conceal from the Argus-eyes of a little town. If Severine
loved the Vicomte de Chargeboeuf and was beloved by him, it was in all
honor and propriety, said the friends of the Grevins and the Marions;
and that double coterie imposed its opinion on the whole arrondissement;
but the Marions and the Grevins had no influence on the royalists, and
the royalists regarded the sub-prefect as fortunate in love.

As soon as the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne heard what was said in the
chateaux about her relation, she sent for him; and such was her horror
for all who were connected, near or far, with the actors in the judicial
drama so fatal to her family, that she strictly enjoined him to change
his residence. Not only that, but she obtained his appointment
as sub-prefect of Sancerre with the promise of advancement to the
prefecture.

Some shrewd observers declared that the viscount pretended this passion
for the purpose of being made prefect; for he well knew the hatred
felt by the marquise for the name of Grevin. Others remarked on the
coincidence of the viscount's apparitions in Paris with the visits made
by Madame Beauvisage to the capital on frivolous pretexts. An impartial
historian would be puzzled to form a just opinion on the facts of
this matter, which are buried in the mysteries of private life. One
circumstance alone seems to give color to the reports.

Cecile-Renee Beauvisage was born in 1820, just as Monsieur de
Chargeboeuf left Arcis, and among his various names was that of Rene.
This name was given by the Comte de Gondreville as godfather of the
child. Had the mother objected to the name, she would in some degree
have given color to the rumor. As gossip always endeavors to justify
itself, the giving of this name was said to be a bit of maliciousness on
the part of the old count. Madame Keller, the count's daughter, who was
named Cecile, was the godmother. As for the resemblance shown in the
person of Cecile-Renee Beauvisage, it was striking. This young girl was
like neither father nor mother; in course of time she had become the
living image of the Vicomte de Chargeboeuf, whose aristocratic manners
she had also acquired. This double resemblance, both moral and physical,
was not observed by the inhabitants of Arcis, for the viscount never
returned to that town.

Severine made her husband happy in his own way. He liked goo