eve a certain class of men are
capable of experiencing the same pure and kin-like devotion for certain
women.

M. de Bois felt that he was comprehended by Madeleine,--that she
sympathized with his misfortunes, appreciated the difficulties of his
position, and, without pretending to be blind to his defects, always
viewed them leniently: thus, in her presence he was sufficiently at ease
to be entirely himself; his _amour propre_ received fewer wounds, and he
was conscious that he appeared to better advantage than in the society
of other ladies.

Madeleine, on her side, had more than once reflected that there was no
one to whom she could more easily turn to impart a sorrow, intrust a
secret, solicit a favor, or receive consolation and advice,--no one in
whom she could so thoroughly confide, as M. de Bois.

Gaston had only commenced to regain his self-possession when the two
American gentlemen, Mr. Hilson and Mr. Meredith, were announced.

The countess received them with a freezing formality which would have
awed any visitors less unsuspicious of the cause of this augmented
stateliness.

They were both gentlemen who held high positions in their own country;
they had brought letters to Count Tristan de Gramont, with a view of
enlisting his interest in the railway company of which we have before
spoken; they had been cordially received by him, and invited to partake
of his hospitality; it therefore never occurred to either of them that
the haughty demeanor of the countess was designed to impress them with a
sense of their inferiority.

Mr. Hilson was what is termed a "self-made" man,--that is, he owed
nothing to the chances of birth; he had received little early
cultivation, but he had educated himself, and therefore all the
knowledge he had acquired was positive mental gain, and brought into
active use. He had inherited no patrimony, and started life with no
advantages of position; but he had made his own fortune, and earned his
own place in the social sphere. He had been one of the most successful
and scientific engineers which the United States ever produced, and was
now the president of an important railroad, and a highly influential
member of society.

Mr. Meredith was born in the State of Maryland,--a "man of family," as
it is styled. He had not encountered the difficulties and experienced
the struggles of his associates; his was therefore a less strong, less
highly developed, character. He had travelled over t