When we got back, we found my uncle Chambrun, my mother's only brother,
standing at the door. He was the minister of a small town near Avignon,
and did not care to go to the Fair; nevertheless he was very glad to
hear all about it from those who had been there. We were well pleased
to have so ready a listener; and when we had said our say, he fell into
grave talk with my father and mother of the signs of the times, which
he thought very threatening.

"What can we expect otherwise," said he, "with Louis the Fourteenth
for king and Louvois for his minister, and Père la Chaise for his
confessor, and Madame de Maintenon for his confidante and adviser?
A storm is gathering overhead, but never mind--there is a heaven higher
than all." These words checked us; but youthful spirits soon rise, and
the impression did not last long. I now seemed walking on air, for I
loved and was loved by Madeleine.

A few days after our return from Beaucaire, Marie Lefevre burst in on us
with troubled looks, and exclaimed,

"Have you seen my boy?"

"No!" exclaimed we all.

"Then something has befallen him," cried she, wringing her hands. "We
have lost sight of him."

We gathered about her, full of pity, and asked where he had last been
seen.