t the first; but you, rich and handsome,
who will be peer and duke on the first occasion, are in love, and you
sigh!--you, whose device is 'hilariter.'"

"My dear Anne, I have never reckoned the gifts of fortune, past and to
come, as things to constitute happiness; I have no ambitions."

"That is to say, you have not at present."

"At all events, not for the things you speak of."

"Not just now, perhaps, but later you will return to them."

"Never, brother; I desire nothing--I want nothing."

"You are wrong. When one is called 'Joyeuse,' one of the best names in
France, when one has a brother a king's favorite, one desires
everything, and has everything."

Henri hung his blond head sadly.

"Come," continued Anne, "we are quite alone here; have you anything to
tell me?"

"Nothing, but that I love."

"Diable! that is not a very serious affair; I also am in love."

"Not like me, brother."

"I, also, think sometimes of my mistress."

"Yes, but not always."

"I, also, have annoyances."

"Yes; but you also have joys, for you are loved."

"True; but I have obstacles. They exact from me so much mystery."

"They exact! If your mistress exacts, she loves you."

"Yes, she loves me and M. de Mayenne--or rather only me, for she would
give up Mayenne at once if she was not afraid he would kill her; it is
his habit to kill women, you know. I am obliged to be constantly on my
guard, but I do not grow sad on that account; I continue to laugh--at
least, sometimes. Tell me, Henri, is your lady beautiful?"

"Alas! she is not mine."

"Is she beautiful? Her name?"

"I do not know it."

"Come, now."

"On my honor."

"My friend, I begin to think it is more dangerous than I thought; it is
not sadness, but madness."

"She never spoke but once before me, and since then I have not heard the
sound of her voice."

"And you have not inquired about her?"

"Of whom?"

"Why, of the neighbors."

"She lives in her own house, and no one knows her."

"Ah! _ca!_ then she is a ghost!"

"She is a woman, tall and beautiful as a nymph, serious and grave as the
angel Gabriel!"

"When did you meet her?"

"One day I followed a young girl to the church of La Gypecienne, and I
entered a little garden close to it, where there is a stone seat under
some trees. Do you know this garden, Anne?"

"No; but never mind--go on."

"It began to grow dark; I had lost sight of the young girl, and in
seeking her I arrived at this sea