t which have never since entirely
cleared away; however that may be, I never remember so bright and
beautiful a summer as the one I am telling you of. And little
Charlotte's merry laugh was often heard on the terrace walk, as she ran
races with Mademoiselle Eliane's dog, or made daisy wreaths for
Mademoiselle Jeanne's dark hair. Kindness and companionship were all she
required to make her a bright and happy child. But the pleasant summer
faded, and with the first autumn days came a fresh sorrow for the little
girl. One morning, before the usual time for meeting in the garden, I
caught sight of her on the balcony, her face looking again like the
little pale Charlotte I had first known her, her eyes red with weeping.
And as by good chance the young ladies came out soon the reason was soon
explained.

"'I am going away, my dear young ladies,' cried Charlotte, as she threw
herself into their arms. 'My aunt has just told me. We return to England
in a few days. To England, where I have no friends, where I shall be
again all alone. O Mademoiselle Eliane! O Mademoiselle Jeanne! what
shall I do without you, and your pretty garden, and your kindness, and
poor old Dudu, and the flowers, and everything?'

"They consoled her as well as they could, my kind young ladies, whose
hearts were always full of sympathy. But the tears came to their own
eyes when they saw how real and acute was the little girl's grief.

"'You will come back to see us again, little Charlotte, perhaps,' they
said. 'Your aunt has travelled so much, very likely she will not wish to
remain always in England. And you would always find us here--in the
winter at any rate; generally in the summer we spend some months at our
chateau, though this summer our father had business which obliged him to
stay here. But for that we should not have seen you so much.'

"But Charlotte was not to be consoled. Her aunt, she was sure, would
never travel any more. She had said only that very morning, that once
she got back to England she would stay there for the rest of her life,
she was too old to move about any more.

"'And I,' added Charlotte, with a fresh burst of weeping, 'I am to be
sent to an English school as soon as aunt can settle about it.'

"'But you will be happier at school, dear,' said Mademoiselle Eliane.
'You will have friends of your own age.'

"'I don't want friends of my own age. I shall never love _any_ friends
as much as my dear Mademoiselle Jeanne and my d