s mother. It would be
murder! I am quite jealous of all she has ever done for him. But I
don't think my marriage will please her."

"See, my darling, we must hide nothing from your mother."

"I should have to show her the seal, and I promised not to betray
Cousin Lisbeth, who is afraid, she says, of mamma's laughing at her,"
said Hortense.

"You have scruples about the seal, and none about robbing your cousin
of her lover."

"I promised about the seal--I made no promise about the sculptor."

This adventure, patriarchal in its simplicity, came admirably _a
propos_ to the unconfessed poverty of the family; the Baron, while
praising his daughter for her candor, explained to her that she must
now leave matters to the discretion of her parents.

"You understand, my child, that it is not your part to ascertain
whether your cousin's lover is a Count, if he has all his papers
properly certified, and if his conduct is a guarantee for his
respectability.--As for your cousin, she refused five offers when she
was twenty years younger; that will prove no obstacle, I undertake to
say."

"Listen to me, papa; if you really wish to see me married, never say a
word to Lisbeth about it till just before the contract is signed. I
have been catechizing her about this business for the last six months!
Well, there is something about her quite inexplicable----"

"What?" said her father, puzzled.

"Well, she looks evil when I say too much, even in joke, about her
lover. Make inquiries, but leave me to row my own boat. My confidence
ought to reassure you."

"The Lord said, 'Suffer little children to come unto Me.' You are one
of those who have come back again," replied the Baron with a touch of
irony.

After breakfast the dealer was announced, and the artist with his
group. The sudden flush that reddened her daughter's face at once made
the Baroness suspicious and then watchful, and the girl's confusion
and the light in her eyes soon betrayed the mystery so badly guarded
in her simple heart.

Count Steinbock, dressed in black, struck the Baron as a very
gentlemanly young man.

"Would you undertake a bronze statue?" he asked, as he held up the
group.

After admiring it on trust, he passed it on to his wife, who knew
nothing about sculpture.

"It is beautiful, isn't it, mamma?" said Hortense in her mother' ear.

"A statue! Monsieur, it is less difficult to execute a statue than to
make a clock like this, which my friend here