considering his character, this seems unlikely, for one cannot do him the
honour of crediting him with a single moment of remorse, doubt, or pity.
Far from it, it appears from all the information which can be gathered,
that Derues, faithful to his own traditions, was simply experimenting on
his unfortunate guests, for no sooner were they in his house than both
began to complain of constant nausea, which they had never suffered from
before. While he thus ascertained the strength of their constitution, he
was able, knowing the cause of the malady, to give them relief, so that
Madame de Lamotte, although she grew daily weaker, had so much confidence
in him as to think it unnecessary to call in a doctor. Fearing to alarm
her husband, she never mentioned her sufferings, and her letters only
spoke of the care and kind attention which she received.

On the 15th of January, 1777, Edouard was placed in a school in the rue
de l'Homme Arme. His mother never saw him again. She went out once more
to place her husband's power of attorney with a lawyer in the rue de
Paon. On her return she felt so weak and broken-down that she was
obliged to go to bed and remain there for several days. On January 29th
the unfortunate lady had risen, and was sitting near the window which
overlooked the deserted rue des Menetriers, where clouds of snow were
drifting before the wind. Who can guess the sad thoughts which may have
possessed her?--all around dark, cold, and silent, tending to produce
painful depression and involuntary dread. To escape the gloomy ideas
which besieged her, her mind went back to the smiling times of her youth
and marriage. She recalled the time when, alone at Buisson during her
husband's enforced absences, she wandered with her child in the cool and
shaded walks of the park, and sat out in the evening, inhaling the scent
of the flowers, and listening to the murmur of the water, or the sound of
the whispering breeze in the leaves. Then, coming back from these sweet
recollections to reality, she shed tears, and called on her husband and