invention, and applied all his increased skill to rendering his gun
lighter and less costly. When put under test, the new firearm burst, and
this vexatious incident ruined forever the reputation of the Larinski
gun. Far from becoming enriched, the inventor had sunk his expenses, his
advances of every kind; he had recklessly squandered both revenue and
capital, which, to be sure, was not very considerable.

Mlle. Antoinette Moriaz had a more fortunate destiny than Count
Larinski. She did not plume herself on having invented a new gun, nor
did she depend upon her ingenuity for a livelihood; she had inherited
from her mother a yearly income of about a hundred thousand livres,
which enabled her to enjoy life and make others happy, for she was very
charitable. She loved the world without loving it too much; she knew how
to do without it, having abundant resources within herself, and being of
a very independent disposition. During the winter she went out a great
deal into society, and received freely at home. Her father, member of
the Institute and Professor of Chemistry at the College of France, was
one of those _savants_ who enjoy dining out; he had a taste also for
music and for the theatre. Antoinette accompanied him everywhere; they
scarcely ever remained at home except upon their reception evenings; but
with the return of the swallows it was a pleasure to Mlle. Moriaz to
fly to Cormeilles and there pass seven months, reduced to the society of
Mlle. Moiseney, who, after having been her instructress, had become
her _demoiselle de compagnie_. She lived pretty much in the open air,
walking about in the woods, reading, or painting; and the woods, her
books, and her paint-brushes, to say nothing of her poor people, so
agreeably occupied her time that she never experienced a quarter of an
hour's _ennui_. She was too content with her lot to have the slightest
inclination to change it; therefore she was in no hurry to marry. She
had completed twenty-four years of her existence, had refused several