the barriers of ice melting between us. She seemed to have many
questions to ask, but uttered none.

"If study has made you ill," she said, "the air of our valley will
soon restore you."

"Modern education is fatal to children," remarked the count. "We stuff
them with mathematics and ruin their health with sciences, and make
them old before their time. You must stay and rest here," he added,
turning to me. "You are crushed by the avalanche of ideas that have
rolled down upon you. What sort of future will this universal
education bring upon us unless we prevent its evils by replacing
public education in the hands of the religious bodies?"

These words were in harmony with a speech he afterwards made at the
elections when he refused his support to a man whose gifts would have
done good service to the royalist cause. "I shall always distrust men
of talent," he said.

Presently the count proposed that we should make the tour of the
gardens.

"Monsieur--" said his wife.

"Well, what, my dear?" he said, turning to her with an arrogant
harshness which showed plainly enough how absolute he chose to be in
his own home.

"Monsieur de Vandenesse walked from Tours this morning and Monsieur de
Chessel, not aware of it, has already taken him on foot over