er so; but she is so modest and
prudent that I am not afraid for her. I could tell you, madame, a good
anecdote on this subject, but my paper will not allow, and, besides, my
writing is so difficult."

Above a year elapsed before Madame de Fleury received another letter from
Victoire: this was in a parcel, of which an emigrant took charge; it
contained a variety of little offerings from her pupils, instances of
their ingenuity, their industry, and their affection; the last thing in
the packet was a small purse labelled in this manner--

"_Savings from our wages and earnings for her who taught us all we
know_."

CHAPTER XII

"Dans sa pompe elegante, admirez Chantilly,
De heros en heros, d'age en age, embelli."--DE LILLE.

The health of the good Sister Frances, which had suffered much from the
shock her mind received at the commencement of the revolution, declined
so rapidly in the course of the two succeeding years, that she was
obliged to leave Paris, and she retired to a little village in the
neighbourhood of Chantilly. She chose this situation because here she
was within a morning's walk of Madame de Fleury's country-seat. The
Chateau de Fleury had not yet been seized as national property, nor had
it suffered from the attacks of the mob, though it was in a perilous
situation, within view of the high road to Paris. The Parisian populace
had not yet extended their outrages to this distance from the city, and
the poor people who lived on the estate of Fleury, attached from habit,
principle, and gratitude, to their lord, were not disposed to take
advantage of the disorder of the times, to injure the property of those
from whom they had all their lives received favours and protection. A
faithful old steward had the care of the castle and the grounds. Sister
Frances was impatient to talk to him and to visit the chateau, which she
had never seen; but for some days after her arrival in the village she
was so much fatigued and so weak that she could not attempt so long a
walk. Victoire had obtained permission from her mistress to accompany
the nun for a few days to the country, as Annette undertook to do all the
business of the shop during the absence of her companion. Victoire was
fully as eager as Sister Frances to see the faithful steward and the
Chateau de Fleury, and the morning was now fixed for their walk; but in
the middle of the night they were awakened by the shouts of a mob, who
had just en