f, incurred the ill-will of the
Keeper of the Seals. He was therefore appointed Advocate-General to
Martinique, and after some days of hesitation, accepted the transfer to
that remote situation. But old M. Langevin did not easily console
himself for the departure of his daughter: he died two years later
without having embraced the little Clementine, to whom it was intended
that he should be godfather. M. Sambucco, his son-in-law, lost his life
in 1843, during an earthquake. The papers of the colony and of the
metropolis related at the time how he had fallen a victim to his
devotion to others. After this fearful misfortune, the young widow
hastened to recross the sea with her daughter. She settled in
Fontainebleau, in order that the child might live in a healthy
atmosphere. Fontainebleau is one of the healthiest places in France. If
Mme. Sambucco had been as good a manager as she was mother, she would
have left Clementine a respectable fortune, but she regulated her
affairs badly and got herself under heavy embarrassments. A neighboring
notary relieved her of a round sum; and two farms which she had paid
dearly for, brought her almost nothing. In short, she no longer knew
what her situation was, and began to lose all control of it, when a
sister of her husband, an old maid, pinched and pious, expressed a
desire to live with her and use their resources in common. The arrival
of this long-toothed spinster strangely frightened the little
Clementine, who hid herself under the furniture and nestled among her
mother's skirts; but it was the salvation of the house. Mlle. Sambucco
was not one of the most spirituelle nor one of the most romantic of
women, but she was Order incarnated. She reduced the expenses, handled
the resources herself, sold the two farms in 1847, bought some
three-per-cents. in 1848, and restored stable equilibrium in the budget.
Thanks to the talents and activity of this female steward, the gentle
and improvident widow had nothing to do but to fondle her child.
Clementine learned to honor the virtues of her aunt, but she adored her
mother. When she had the affliction of losing her, she found herself
alone in the world, leaning on Mlle. Sambucco, like a young plant on a
prop of dry wood. It was then that her friendship for Leon glimmered
with a vague ray of love; and young Renault profited by the necessity
for expansion which filled this youthful soul.

During the three long years that Leon spent away from h