, and he felt that his mother would surely die if she knew him
guilty. All nature changed for him. He was hot; he did not see the snow;
the houses looked like spectres flitting past him.

By the time he reached home the young baron had decided on his course
which was certainly that of an honest man. He went to his mother's room,
took the gold snuff-box set with diamonds given to his grandfather by
the Emperor, and wrapped it in a parcel with the seven hundred francs
and the following letter, which required several rough copies before it
was satisfactory. Then he directed the whole to Doctor Halpersohn:--

Monsieur,--The fruits of twenty years of my grandfather's toil
were about to be seized by usurers, who even threatened to put him
in prison. Three thousand three hundred francs were enough to save
him. Seeing all that money on your table, I could not resist the
happiness of freeing my grandfather from his danger. I borrowed,
without your consent, four thousand francs of you; but as three
thousand three hundred were all that was necessary, I send the
other seven hundred in money, together with a gold snuff-box set
with diamonds, given to my grandfather by the Emperor, the value
of which will probably cover the whole sum.

In case you do not believe in the honor of him who will forever
regard you as a benefactor, I pray you to keep silence about an
act which would be quite unjustifiable under other circumstances;
for by so doing you will save my grandfather's life, just as you
are saving my mother's life; and I shall be forever

Your devoted servant, Auguste de Mergi.

About half-past two o'clock in the afternoon, Auguste, who went himself
as far as the Champs Elysees, sent the package from there by a street
messenger to Doctor Halpersohn's house; then he walked slowly homeward
by the pont de Jena, the Invalides, and the boulevards, relying on
Halpersohn's generosity.

The Polish doctor had meanwhile discovered the theft, and he instantly
changed his opinion of his clients. He now thought the old man had come
to rob him, and being unable to succeed, had sent the boy. He doubted
the rank they had claimed, and went straight to the police-office where
he lodged a complaint, requesting that the lad might be arrested at
once.

The prudence with which the law proceeds seldom allows it to move as
rapidly as complainants desire; but about three o'clock of that day a
commissary of police, a