by
this morning's paper that it was bought by the prince."

"Of course, I am glad of my success. True, it has come late in life; but
still it _has_ come. But I shall miss my picture very much."

"Naturally."

"However, I shall soon see the reality again. I am going home for a
holiday next month."

"Indeed? How I envy you."

"Yes, I am really going, and I am counting the days until it is time to
sail. But, mademoiselle, I am forgetting to show you M. Bois-le-Duc's
letter. I have it with me; shall I leave it here?"

"No, M. Lacroix. I am very lazy this afternoon, and if you would read it
to me while I just sit in this comfortable arm-chair and do nothing but
listen, I should enjoy that above all things."

"Certainly, mademoiselle; nothing would please me better. I imagine your
days of laziness, as you call it, are few and far between. Now, I will
begin. The letter is dated Father Point, April 20th, 1887:--

"My Dear Eugene,

"I was very pleased to receive your last letter, and more than pleased
to hear of your success; but the news that delighted me most of all
was to hear that you were coming here this summer.

"What you tell me about my brother is very satisfactory; I knew he
would be kind to you. I like to think of you as you describe yourself
sitting in the great hall of the Hotel Bois-le-Duc, in Paris, where I
spent so many happy days. I knew you and the marquise would have many
subjects in common, and, as you say, she is one of the ladies of the
old school, now alas! past, yet she can sympathize with Bohemianism,
provided that talent is allied with it. She is a woman good as
she is charming, and highly cultivated. True, I have not seen my
sister-in-law for years, but her letters to me are as clever and
interesting as those of Madame de Stael, and I know from them how
her mind, instead of being dimmed with advancing years, has developed
with every day.

"Your description of the old garden, with its rippling fountains and
quaint _parterres_, reminds me of the days of my youth, when my mother
gave her receptions there. Yes, my dear pupil, the halls of that old
house and the old-fashioned garden have been the scene of many
gay gatherings in the olden time, when France had a true aristocracy.
And not only stately dames and courtiers thronged to the Hotel
Bois-le-Duc, but the foremost minds of the day lent brilliancy to my
mother's _salons_.