ke, as to be mistaken for one
another. Their mother died in exile; and the little she possessed having
been confiscated, they have come hither with my father, from the depths
of Siberia, travelling very wretchedly; but he tried to make them forget
so many privations by the fervency of his devotion and his tenderness. My
excellent father! you will not believe, madame, that, with the courage of
a lion, he has all the love and tenderness of a mother."

"And where are the dear children, sir?" asked Adrienne.

"At our home, madame. It is that which renders my position so very hard;
that which has given me courage to come to you; it is not but that my
labor would be sufficient for our little household, even thus augmented;
but that I am about to be arrested."

"About to be arrested? For what?"

"Pray, madame, have the goodness to read this letter, which has been sent
by some one to Mother Bunch."

Agricola gave to Miss de Cardoville the anonymous letter which had been
received by the workwoman.

After having read the letter, Adrienne said to the blacksmith, with
surprise, "It appears, sir, you are a poet!"

"I have neither the ambition nor the pretension to be one, madame. Only,
when I return to my mother after a day's toil, and often, even while
forging my iron, in order to divert and relax my attention, I amuse
myself with rhymes, sometimes composing an ode, sometimes a song."

"And your song of the Freed Workman, which is mentioned in this letter,
is, therefore, very disaffected--very dangerous?"

"Oh, no, madame; quite the contrary. For myself, I have the good fortune
to be employed in the factory of M. Hardy, who renders the condition of
his workpeople as happy as that of their less fortunate comrades is the
reverse; and I had limited myself to attempt, in favor of the great mass
of the working classes, an equitable, sincere, warm, and earnest
claim--nothing more. But you are aware, perhaps, Madame, that in times of
conspiracy, and commotion, people are often incriminated and imprisoned
on very slight grounds. Should such a misfortune befall me, what will
become of my mother, my father, and the two orphans whom we are bound to
regard as part of our family until the return of their father, Marshal
Simon? It is on this account, madame, that, if I remain, I run the risk
of being arrested. I have come to you to request you to provide surety
for me; so that I should not be compelled to exchange the workshop for
the