had for most things, he used it as a pretext, announced that
he intended to be an artist, and furnishing a room in the
Quartier Latin, with an easel and a pipe, he began the wild
Bohemian life which he found most in accordance with his
tastes.

He was selfish and reckless enough, but not altogether
heartless, for he had a real affection for his mother, which
might have been worked upon with advantage. But Madame
Linders, who had indulged him till he had learnt to look upon
her devotion as a thing of course, now turned upon him with
the fretful, inconsequent reproaches of a weak mind; and
finding that he was constantly met with tearful words and
aggrieved looks, her son avoided her as much as possible. His
sister he could not endure. Thérèse had always been jealous of
the marked preference shown to him; and now, with an evident
sense of triumph, she preached little sermons, talked at him
with unceasing perseverance, and in truth was not a very
engaging person.

Madame Linders had not been dead ten days, when the brother
and sister had a violent quarrel, and parted with the
determination on either side never to meet again--a resolution
which was perfectly well kept. Thérèse retired to the Belgian
convent, and Adolphe, the possessor of a few thousand francs,
the remains of his mother's small fortune, returned to his
studio and to the life he had chosen.

The success and duration of a career of this sort is in exact
proportion to the amount of capital, real or assumed, invested