of her sacrifices--she received a problem in
chemistry! The poor woman left her husband abruptly and returned to the
parlor, where she fell into a chair between her frightened daughters,
and burst into tears. Marguerite and Felicie took her hands, kneeling
one on each side of her, not knowing the cause of her grief, and asking
at intervals, "Mother, what is it?"

"My poor children, I am dying; I feel it."

The answer struck home to Marguerite's heart; she saw, for the first
time on her mother's face, the signs of that peculiar pallor which only
comes on olive-tinted skins.

"Martha, Martha!" cried Felicie, "come quickly; mamma wants you."

The old duenna ran in from the kitchen, and as soon as she saw the livid
hue of the dusky skin usually high-colored, she cried out in Spanish,--

"Body of Christ! madame is dying!"

Then she rushed precipitately back, told Josette to heat water for a
footbath, and returned to the parlor.

"Don't alarm Monsieur Claes; say nothing to him, Martha," said her
mistress. "My poor dear girls," she added, pressing Marguerite and
Felicie to her heart with a despairing action; "I wish I could live
long enough to see you married and happy. Martha," she continued, "tell
Lemulquinier to go to Monsieur de Solis and ask him in my name to come
here."

The shock of this attack extended to the kitchen. Josette and Martha,
both devoted to Madame Claes and her daughters, felt the blow in their
own affections. Martha's dreadful announcement,--"Madame is dying;
monsieur must have killed her; get ready a mustard-bath,"--forced
certain exclamations from Josette, which she launched at Lemulquinier.
He, cold and impassive, went on eating at the corner of a table before
one of the windows of the kitchen, where all was kept as clean as the
boudoir of a fine lady.

"I knew how it would end," said Josette, glancing at the valet and
mounting a stool to take down a copper kettle that shone like gold.
"There's no mother could stand quietly by and see a father amusing
himself by chopping up a fortune like his into sausage-meat."

Josette, whose head was covered by a round cap with crimped borders,
which made it look like a German nut-cracker, cast a sour look at
Lemulquinier, which the greenish tinge of her prominent little eyes
made almost venomous. The old valet shrugged his shoulders with a motion
worthy of Mirobeau when irritated; then he filled his large mouth with
bread and butter sprinkled with chopp