m, then!--on me?"

"On you? Valentine! Oh, heaven forbid! Woman is sacred; the woman one
loves is holy."

"On yourself, then, unhappy man; on yourself?"

"I am the only guilty person, am I not?" said Maximilian.

"Maximilian!" said Valentine, "Maximilian, come back, I entreat you!" He
drew near with his sweet smile, and but for his paleness one might
have thought him in his usual happy mood. "Listen, my dear, my adored
Valentine," said he in his melodious and grave tone; "those who, like
us, have never had a thought for which we need blush before the world,
such may read each other's hearts. I never was romantic, and am no
melancholy hero. I imitate neither Manfred nor Anthony; but without
words, protestations, or vows, my life has entwined itself with yours;
you leave me, and you are right in doing so,--I repeat it, you are
right; but in losing you, I lose my life.

"The moment you leave me, Valentine, I am alone in the world. My sister
is happily married; her husband is only my brother-in-law, that is, a
man whom the ties of social life alone attach to me; no one then longer
needs my useless life. This is what I shall do; I will wait until the
very moment you are married, for I will not lose the shadow of one of
those unexpected chances which are sometimes reserved for us, since M.
Franz may, after all, die before that time, a thunderbolt may fall even
on the altar as you approach it,--nothing appears impossible to one
condemned to die, and miracles appear quite reasonable when his escape
from death is concerned. I will, then, wait until the last moment,
and when my misery is certain, irremediable, hopeless, I will write
a confidential letter to my brother-in-law, another to the prefect of
police, to acquaint them with my intention, and at the corner of some
wood, on the brink of some abyss, on the bank of some river, I will put
an end to my existence, as certainly as I am the son of the most honest
man who ever lived in France."

Valentine trembled convulsively; she loosened her hold of the gate, her
arms fell by her side, and two large tears rolled down her cheeks. The
young man stood before her, sorrowful and resolute. "Oh, for pity's
sake," said she, "you will live, will you not?"

"No, on my honor," said Maximilian; "but that will not affect you. You
have done your duty, and your conscience will be at rest." Valentine
fell on her knees, and pressed her almost bursting heart. "Maximilian,"
said she, "Maxim