sband first and then to her sons, such
proofs of business sagacity that she had long been a managing partner in
the firm and signed for it.

Godefroid, as he looked about him, noticed on a shelf certain boxes
ticketed with the words "De la Chanterie," and numbered 1 to 7. When the
conference was ended by the banker saying to his brother, "Very good;
go down to the cashier," Madame de la Chanterie turned round, saw
Godefroid, checked a gesture of surprise, and asked a few questions of
the banker in a low voice, to which he replied in a few words spoken
equally in a whisper.

Madame de la Chanterie now wore gray silk stockings and small prunella
shoes; her gown was the same as before, but she was wrapped in a
Venetian "mantua,"--a sort of cloak which was just then returning into
fashion. On her head was a drawn bonnet of green silk, lined with white
silk, of a style called _a la bonne femme_. Her face was framed by
a cloud of lace. She held herself very erect, in an attitude which
bespoke, if not noble birth, certainly the habits of an aristocratic
life. Without the extreme affability of her manner, she might have
seemed haughty; she was certainly imposing.

"It is the will of Providence rather than mere chance that has brought
us here together, monsieur," she said to Godefroid; "for I had almost
decided to refuse a lodger whose ways of life seemed to me quite
antipathetic to those of my household; but Monsieur Mongenod has just
given me some information about your family which--"

"Ah, madame,--monsieur!" said Godefroid, addressing both Madame de la
Chanterie and the banker, "I have no longer a family; and I have come
here now to ask some financial advice of my father's business advisers
as to the best method of adapting my means to a new way of life."

Godefroid then succinctly, and in as few words as possible, related his
history, and expressed his desire to change his existence.

"Formerly," he said, "a man in my position would have made himself a
monk; but there are no longer any religious orders."

"Go and live with madame, if she is willing to take you," said Frederic
Mongenod, after exchanging a glance with Madame de la Chanterie, "and
do not sell out your property; leave it in my hands. Give me the exact
amount of your debts; I will agree with your creditors for payment at
certain dates, and you can have for yourself about a hundred and fifty
francs a month. It will thus take two years to clear you. During