xation, he, for the moment, forgot his fears.
He knelt at his wife's feet, begged her pardon a thousand times, swore
that he adored her, and declared that the illness and the effect of
the wine had been purely the consequences of fasting and over-work.
It was not the easiest thing in the world to reassure a woman whose
pride, affection, and taste, had been so severely wounded; but Natalie
tried to believe, or to appear to do so, and a sort of reconciliation
ensued, not quite sincere on the part of the wife, and very humbling
on the part of the husband. Under these circumstances it was
impossible that he should recover his spirits or facility of manner;
his gayety was forced, his tenderness constrained; his heart was
heavy within him; and ever and anon the source whence all this
disappointment and woe had sprung would recur to his perplexed,
tortured mind.

Thus mutually pained and distrustful, they returned to Paris, which
they reached about nine o'clock. In spite of her depression, Natalie,
who had not seen her new apartments, felt some curiosity about them,
whilst De Chaulieu anticipated a triumph in exhibiting the elegant
home he had prepared for her. With some alacrity, therefore, they
stepped out of the carriage, the gates of the Hotel were thrown open,
the concierge rang the bell which announced to the servants that their
master and mistress had arrived, and whilst these domestics appeared
above, holding lights over the balusters, Natalie, followed by her
husband, ascended the stairs. But when they reached the landing-place
of the first flight, they saw the figure of a man standing in a corner
as if to make way for them; the flash from above fell upon his face,
and again Antoine de Chaulieu recognized the features of Jacques
Rollet!

From the circumstance of his wife's preceding him, the figure was
not observed by De Chaulieu till he was lifting his foot to place it
on the top stair; the sudden shock caused him to miss the step, and,
without uttering a sound, he fell back, and never stopped till he
reached the stories at the bottom. The screams of Natalie brought the
concierge from below and the maids from above, and an attempt was
made to raise the unfortunate man from the ground; but with cries of
anguish he besought them to desist.

"Let me," he said, "die here! What a fearful vengeance is thine! Oh,
Natalie, Natalie!" he exclaimed to his wife, who was kneeling beside
him, "to win fame, and fortune, and you