of surprise at her daughter's
age. Perhaps she had thought me fifteen. Later on, I discovered that
this was still another tie which bound her strongly to me. Even then I
read her soul. Her motherhood quivered with a tardy ray of hope.
Seeing me at over twenty years of age so slight and delicate and yet so
nervously strong, a voice cried to her, "They too will live!" She looked
at me searchingly, and in that moment I felt the barriers of ice melting
between us. She seemed to have many questions to ask, but uttered none.

"If study has made you ill," she said, "the air of our valley will soon
restore you."

"Modern education is fatal to children," remarked the count. "We stuff
them with mathematics and ruin their health with sciences, and make them
old before their time. You must stay and rest here," he added, turning
to me. "You are crushed by the avalanche of ideas that have rolled down
upon you. What sort of future will this universal education bring upon
us unless we prevent its evils by replacing public education in the
hands of the religious bodies?"

These words were in harmony with a speech he afterwards made at the
elections when he refused his support to a man whose gifts would have
done good service to the royalist cause. "I shall always distrust men of
talent," he said.

Presently the count proposed that we should make the tour of the
gardens.

"Monsieur--" said his wife.

"Well, what, my dear?" he said, turning to her with an arrogant
harshness which showed plainly enough how absolute he chose to be in his
own home.

"Monsieur de Vandenesse walked from Tours this morning and Monsieur de
Chessel, not aware of it, has already taken him on foot over Frapesle."

"Very imprudent of you," the count said, turning to me; "but at your
age--" and he shook his head in sign of regret.

The conversation was resumed. I soon saw how intractable his royalism
was, and how much care was needed to swim safely in his waters. The
man-servant, who had now put on his livery, announced dinner. Monsieur
de Chessel gave his arm to Madame de Mortsauf, and the count gaily
seized mine to lead me into the dining-room, which was on the
ground-floor facing the salon.

This room, floored with white tiles made in Touraine, and wainscoted to
the height of three feet, was hung with a varnished paper divided into
wide panels by wreaths of flowers and fruit; the windows had cambric
curtains trimmed with red, the buffets were old pie