they replied,
'You must ask the principal surgeon.' When will he come, Lorraine?"

"Hush! I think I hear him now. And no one is allowed to speak during his
visit," replied Lorraine, in a low voice.

The daylight had appeared during the conversation of the two women. A
bustle announced the arrival of Doctor Griffon, who entered the room
accompanied by his friend, the Comte de Saint-Remy, who took so warm an
interest in Madame de Fermont and her daughter, but was very far from
expecting to find the unfortunate young lady in the hospital. As he
entered the ward, the cold and harsh features of Doctor Griffon seemed
to expand. Casting around him a look of satisfaction and authority, he
answered the obsequious reception of the sisters by a protecting nod.
The coarse and austere countenance of the old Comte de Saint-Remy was
imprinted with the deepest sorrow. His ineffective attempts to find any
traces of Madame de Fermont, and the ignominious baseness of the
vicomte, who had preferred a life of infamy to death, overwhelmed him
with grief.

"Well," said Doctor Griffon to him, with an air of triumph, "what do you
think of my hospital?"

"Really," replied M. de Saint-Remy, "I do not know why I yielded to your
desire; nothing is more harrowing than the sight of rooms filled with
sick persons. Since I entered, my feelings have been severely
distressed."

"Bah, bah! In a quarter of an hour you will think no more of it. You,
who are a philosopher, will find here ample matter for observation; and
besides, it would have been a shame for you, one of my oldest friends,
not to have known the theatre of my glory, my labours, and seen me at
work. I take pride in my profession--is that wrong?"

"No, certainly; and after your excellent care of Fleur-de-Marie, whom
you have saved, I could refuse you nothing."

"Well, have you ascertained anything as to the fate of Madame de Fermont
and her daughter?"

"Nothing!" replied M. de Saint-Remy, with a sigh. "And my last hope is
in Madame d'Harville, who takes such deep interest in these two
unfortunates; she may find some traces of them. Madame d'Harville, I
hear, is expected daily at her house; and I have written to her on the
subject, begging her to reply as soon as possible."

During the conversation between M. de Saint-Remy and Doctor Griffon,
several groups were formed gradually around a large table in the middle
of the apartment, on which was a register in which the pupils of the