s curious."

"Come, Lise, you shall have the surprise now," I said, as I heard the
sound of carriage wheels on the gravel outside.

One by one our guests arrive and Lise and I stand in the hall to welcome
them. There is Mr. Acquin, Aunt Catherine and Etiennette, and a bronze
young man who has just returned from a botanical expedition and is now
the famous botanist--Benjamin Acquin. Then comes a young man and an old
man. This journey is doubly interesting to them for when they leave us
they are going to Wales to visit the mines. The young one is to make
observations which he will carry back to his own country to strengthen
the high position which he now holds in the Truyere mine, and the other
to add to the fine collection of minerals which the town of Varses
has honored him by accepting. It is the old professor and Alexix.
Lise and I greet our guests, the landau dashes up from the opposite
direction with Arthur, Christina and Mattia. Following in its wake is a
dog cart driven by a smart looking man, beside whom is seated a rugged
sailor. The gentleman holding the reins is Bob, now very prosperous, and
the man by his side is his brother, who helped me to escape from
England.

[Illustration: "LET US NOW PLAY FOR THOSE WE LOVE."]

When the baptismal feast is over, Mattia draws me aside to the window.

"We have often playful to indifferent people," he said; "let us now, on
this memorable occasion, play for those we love?"

"To you there is no pleasure without music, eh, Mattia, old boy," I
said, laughing; "do you remember how you scared our cow?"

Mattia grinned.

From a beautiful box, lined with velvet, he drew out an old violin which
would not have brought two francs if he had wished to sell it. I took
from its coverings a harp, the wood of which had been washed so often by
the rain, that it was now restored to its original color.

"Will you sing your Neapolitan song?" asked Mattia.

"Yes, for it was that which gave Lise back her speech," I said, smiling
at my wife who stood beside me.

Our guests drew round us in a circle. A dog suddenly came forward. Good
old Capi, he is very old and deaf but he still has good eyesight. From
the cushion which he occupies he has recognized the harp and up he
comes, limping, for "the Performance." In his jaws he holds a saucer; he
wants to make the rounds of the "distinguished audience." He tries to
walk on his two hind paws, but strength fails him, so he sits down
gravely an