ttle Esperance Gardon, and public disgrace would be a matter of
certainty.

There she sat in her wainscoted walnut cabinet, a small woman by her
inches, but stately enough to seem of majestic stature, and with gray
eyes, of inexpressible keenness, which she fixed upon the halting,
broken form of Isaac Gardon, and his grave, venerable face, as she half
rose and made a slight acknowledgment of his low bow.

'Sit, Maitre Gardon, you are lame,' she said, with a wave of her hand.
'I gave you the incommodity of coming to see me not openly discuss _en
pleine sale_.'

'Madame is considerate,' said Isaac, civilly, but with an open-eyed look
and air that at once showed her that she had not to deal with one of the
ministers who never forgot their low birth in intercourse with her.

'I understand,' said she, coming to the point at once, 'that you decline
the proposals of Samuel Mace for your daughter-in-law. Now I wish you
to know that Mace is a very good youth, whom I have known from his
birth'--and she went on in his praise, Isaac bowing at each pause, until
she had exhausted both Mace's history and her own beneficent intentions
for him. Then he said, 'Madame is very good, and the young man appeared
to me excellent. Nevertheless, this thing may not be. My daughter-in-law
has resolved not to marry again.'

'Nay, but this is mere folly,' said the Duchess. 'We hold not Catholic
tenets on merit in abstaining, but rather go by St. Paul's advice that
the younger widows should marry, rather than wax wanton. And, to tell
you the truth, Maitre Gardon, this daughter of yours does seem to have
set tongues in motion.'

'Not by her own fault, Madame.'

'Stay, my good friend; I never found a man--minister or lay--who was
a fair judge in these matters. You old men are no better than the
young--rather worse--because you do not distrust yourselves. Now, I
say no harm of the young woman, and I know an angel would be abused
at Montauban for not wearing sad-coloured wings; but she needs a man's
care--you are frail, you cannot live for ever--and how is it to be with
her and her child?'

'I hope to bestow them among her kindred ere I die, Madame,' said Isaac.

'No kindred can serve a woman like a sensible husband! Besides, I
thought all perished at Paris. Listen, Isaac Gardon: I tell you plainly
that scandal is afloat. You are blamed for culpable indifference to
alleged levities--I say not that it is true--but I see this, that unless
you ca