gether; we made a man of him, a thorough man,
intelligent, full of sense and resolution, of large and generous
ideas. The boy reached the age of seventeen.

"'He, the young man, was fond of my--my lover, almost as fond of him
as I was myself, for he had been equally cherished and cared for by
both of us. He used to call him his "dear friend," and respected him
immensely, having never received from him anything but wise counsels,
and a good example of rectitude, honor, and probity. He looked upon
him as an old, loyal and devoted comrade of his mother, as a sort of
moral father, tutor, protector--how am I to describe it?

"'Perhaps the reason why he never asked any questions was that he had
been accustomed from his earliest years to see this man in the house,
by his side, and by my side, always concerned about us both.

"'One evening the three of us were to dine together (these were my
principal festive occasions), and I waited for the two of them, asking
myself which of them would be the first to arrive. The door opened; it
was my old friend. I went towards him, with outstretched arms; and he
drew his lips towards mine in a long, delicious kiss.

"'All of a sudden, a sound, a rustling which was barely audible, that
mysterious sensation which indicates the presence of another person,
made us start and turn round with a quick movement. Jean, my son,
stood there, livid, staring at us.

"'There was a moment of atrocious confusion. I drew back, holding out
my hand towards my son as if in supplication; but I could see him no
longer. He had gone.

"'We remained facing each other--my lover and I--crushed, unable to
utter a word. I sank down on an armchair, and I felt a desire, a
vague, powerful desire to fly, to go out into the night, and to
disappear for ever. Then, convulsive sobs rose up in my throat, and I
wept, shaken with spasms, with my heart torn asunder, all my nerves
writhing with the horrible sensation of an irremediable misfortune,
and with that dreadful sense of shame which, in such moments as this,
falls on a mother's heart.

"'He looked at me in a scared fashion, not venturing to approach me or
to speak to me or to touch me, for fear of the boy's return. At last
he said:

"'"I am going to follow him--to talk to him--to explain matters to
him. In short, I must see him and let him know--"

"'And he hurried away.

"'I waited--I waited in a distracted frame of mind, trembling at the
least sound, convulsed