d be?" said Lemulquinier, contemplating his
master with admiration.

"Now here," continued Balthazar, after a pause, "the combination is
subject to the influence of the galvanic battery, which may act--"

"If monsieur wishes, I can increase its force."

"No, no; leave it as it is. Perfect stillness and time are the
conditions of crystallization--"

"Confound it, it takes time enough, that crystallization," cried the old
valet impatiently.

"If the temperature goes down, the sulphide of carbon will crystallize,"
said Balthazar, continuing to give forth shreds of indistinct thoughts
which were parts of a complete conception in his own mind; "but if the
battery works under certain conditions of which I am ignorant--it must
be watched carefully--it is quite possible that--Ah! what am I thinking
of? It is no longer a question of chemistry, my friend; we are to keep
accounts in Bretagne."

Claes rushed precipitately from the laboratory, and went downstairs to
take a last breakfast with his family, at which Pierquin and Monsieur
de Solis were present. Balthazar, hastening to end the agony Science had
imposed upon him, bade his children farewell and got into the carriage
with his uncle, all the family accompanying him to the threshold.
There, as Marguerite strained her father to her breast with a despairing
pressure, he whispered in her ear, "You are a good girl; I bear you no
ill-will"; then she darted through the court-yard into the parlor, and
flung herself on her knees upon the spot where her mother had died, and
prayed to God to give her strength to accomplish the hard task that lay
before her. She was already strengthened by an inward voice, sounding in
her heart the encouragement of angels and the gratitude of her mother,
when her sister, her brother, Emmanuel, and Pierquin came in, after
watching the carriage until it disappeared.

CHAPTER XIV

"And now, mademoiselle, what do you intend to do!" said Pierquin.

"Save the family," she answered simply. "We own nearly thirteen hundred
acres at Waignies. I intend to clear them, divide them into three farms,
put up the necessary buildings, and then let them. I believe that in a
few years, with patience and great economy, each of us," motioning to
her sister and brother, "will have a farm of over four-hundred acres,
which may bring in, some day, a rental of nearly fifteen thousand
francs. My brother Gabriel will have this house, and all that now stands
in his