were also widely open, and were more
keen and vivacious than ever, for Zenaide was about to be married to a
handsome young soldier attached to the customhouse at Nantes, and the
girl's dowry was seven thousand francs. Pere Rondic thought this too
much, but the soldier was firm. The old man had made no provision for
Clarisse. If he should die, what would become of her?

But his wife said, "You are yet young--we will be economical. Let the
soldier have Zenaide and the seven thousand francs, for the girl loves
him!"

Zenaide spent a great deal of time before her mirror. She did not
deceive herself. "I am ugly, and M. Maugin will not marry me for my
beauty, but let him marry me, and he shall love me later."

And the girl gave a little nod, for she knew the unselfish devotion of
which she was capable, the tenderness and patience with which she would
watch over her husband. But all these new interests had so absorbed her
that Zenaide had partially forgotten her suspicions; they returned to
her at intervals, while she was sewing on her wedding-dress, but she
did not notice her mother's pallor nor uneasiness, nor did she feel the
burning heat of those slender hands. She did not notice her long and
frequent disappearances, and she heard nothing of what was rumored in
the town. She saw and heard nothing but her own radiant happiness. The
banns were published, the marriage-day fixed, and the little house was
full of the joyous excitement that precedes a wedding. Zenaide ran up
and down stairs twenty times each day with the movements of a young
hippopotamus. Her friends came and went, little gifts were pouring in,
for the girl was a great favorite in spite of her occasional abruptness.
Jack wished to make her a present; his mother had sent him a hundred
francs.

"This money is your own, my Jack," Charlotte wrote. "Buy with it a gift
for M'lle Rondic, and some clothes for yourself. I wish you to make a
good appearance at the wedding, and I am afraid that your wardrobe is in
a pitiable condition. Say nothing about it in your letters, nor of me to
the Rondics. They would thank me, which would be an annoyance, and bring
me a reproof besides."

For two days Jack carried this money with pride in his pocket. He would
go to Nantes and buy a new suit. What a delight it would be! and how
kind his mother was! One thing troubled him: What could he purchase
for Zenaide; he must first see what she had.

So thinking one dark night, as he