Cecile-Renee Beauvisage was born in 1820, just as Monsieur de
Chargeboeuf left Arcis, and among his various names was that of Rene.
This name was given by the Comte de Gondreville as godfather of the
child. Had the mother objected to the name, she would in some degree
have given color to the rumor. As gossip always endeavors to justify
itself, the giving of this name was said to be a bit of maliciousness
on the part of the old count. Madame Keller, the count's daughter, who
was named Cecile, was the godmother. As for the resemblance shown in
the person of Cecile-Renee Beauvisage, it was striking. This young
girl was like neither father nor mother; in course of time she had
become the living image of the Vicomte de Chargeboeuf, whose
aristocratic manners she had also acquired. This double resemblance,
both moral and physical, was not observed by the inhabitants of Arcis,
for the viscount never returned to that town.

Severine made her husband happy in his own way. He liked good living
and everything easy about him; she supplied him with the choicest
wines, a table worthy of a bishop, served by the best cook in the
department but without the pretensions of luxury; for she kept her
household strictly to the conditions of the burgher life of Arcis. It
was a proverb in Arcis that you must dine with Madame Beauvisage and
spend your evening with Madame Marion.

The renewed influence in the arrondissement of Arcis which the
Restoration gave to the house of Cinq-Cygne had naturally drawn closer
the ties that bound together the various families affected by the
criminal trial relating to the abduction of Gondreville. [See "An
Historical Mystery."] The Marions, Grevins, and Giguets were all the
more united because the triumph of their political opinions, called
"constitutional," now required the utmost harmony.