at the Bois de Boulogne."

"It may be as you say, sir," said I, irritated by the flippancy of his
remark; "but perhaps I may ask the name of the gentleman who takes such
interest in my affairs, and by what right he meddles in them?"

The general started back in his chair, and was about to speak, when
the advocate laid his hand gently on his arm to restrain him, and, in a
voice of the most unruffled smoothness, replied,--

"As to my name, sir, it is Laurence Baillot; my rank is simple avocat to
the Cours et Tribunaux; and the 'right' by which I interfere in matters
personal to you is the consideration of fifty louis which accompanied
this brief."

"And my name, young man, is Lieutenant-General d'Auvergne," said the old
man, proudly, as he stared me steadfastly in the face.

I arose at once, and saluted the general with a deep and respectful
obeisance. It was the same officer who reviewed us at the Polytechnique
the day of my promotion.

"You are now, I hope, satisfied with the reasons of our presence, and
that nothing but considerations of your interest can have influenced our
visit," said the avocat, with calmness. "Such being the case, sit
down here, and relate all you can of your life since your leaving the
Polytechnique. Be brief, too, for it is now three o'clock; the court
opens at ten, your case will be called the second, and I must at least
have three hours of sleep."

The general pointed to a seat beside him; I sat down, and without
any delay proceeded to give a rapid account of all my adventures and
proceedings to the hour we were then assembled, only omitting all
mention of Mademoiselle de Meudon's name, and such allusions to De
Beauvais as might lead to his crimination.

The advocate wrote down, as rapidly as I spoke them, the principal
details of my history, and when I had concluded, perused the notes he
had taken with a quick eye.

"This will never do," said he, with more impatience in his manner than
I had yet witnessed. "Here are a mass of circumstances all unexplained,
and all suspicious. It is now entirely a question of the feeling of
the court. The charges, if pressed, must lead to a conviction.
Your innocence, sir, may satisfy--indeed, it has satisfied--General
d'Auvergne, who else had not been here this night; but the proofs are
not before us."

He paused for a moment, and then continued in a lower tone, addressing
himself directly to the general: "We must entreat a delay; a day--two
day