in the sense of belief in a Supreme
Being, but he no longer lived so much for and by his faith; Nature and
God were put back in the past, as he had said to Crabbe, and all his
thought was for the duty of the hour and for the guidance and
sustenance of others. He imagined he had lowered his own dignity by
writing, on the first impulse of desperate first love, the letter which
Crabbe had read with Pauline, and he strove to regain that clerical
calm and judicial bearing that had suffered so violent a shock. But
when six weeks of this repressed existence had sped and autumnal winds
were sweeping down from the glacial north of Terrebonne, bringing cold
rains and occasional snow flurries with them, he felt that he must at
least call at the manor to inquire after Henry Clairville. Little at
any time was heard of the latter except when "Ma'amselle" returned to
her native heath, at which times the Archambaults were whipped into
work and obedience by the forcible tongue and stormy temper of their
mistress. Messages and parcels then passed between the domain and the
village; Father Rielle made his call and the whole village and
_paroisse_ quickened with energy under Pauline's determined sway.
Crabbe--this Ringfield heard from Poussette--was also sent about his
business; he was no longer encouraged to play cards and drink with
Henry, who fared as he might at the hands of the tyrant family swarming
all over the estate.

On a chilly October day, Ringfield once again traversed the muddy road
leading to Lac Calvaire, his heart sore over the revelation that had
reached him, and he could not repress a painful sigh as he came in
sight of the _metairie_. The lake was dull grey, the maples were
shedding their leaves without painting them red and yellow, and the
pines looked unusually sombre against a pale and cheerless sky. A pair
of kingfishers were flying from side to side of the road, and a forked
object sailing high up in the air proclaimed itself a bird, otherwise
there was no sign of life till, approaching the front of the
_metairie_, he observed the peacock taking its airing in a neglected
garden.

Nothing had affected the pose and splendour of this radiant creature as
it paraded up and down, gently swaying its lustrous and shimmering
tail; the drooping fortunes of the house were not reflected in its mien
or expression, and it was not until Ringfield was met by four lean cats
prowling about him in evident expectation of food