grand answer had not stopped his mouth; but if he had said another word,
my mind was made up."

"To do what?"

"I should have risen from the table and taken your arm, and we should
have gone out together. M. de Castries has told me that he would have
done the same, and I believe all the ladies whom you asked to breakfast
would have followed our example."

"But the affair would not have stopped then, for I should certainly have
demanded immediate satisfaction, and if he had refused it I should have
struck him with the flat of my sword."

"I know that, but pray forget that it was I who exposed you to this
danger. For my part, I shall never forget what I owe to you, and I will
try to convince you of my gratitude."

Two days later, on hearing that she was indisposed, I went to call on her
at eleven o'clock, at which time I was sure the general would not be
there. She received me in her husband's room, and he, in the friendliest
manner possible, asked me if I had come to dine with them. I hastened to
thank him for his invitation, which I accepted with pleasure, and I
enjoyed this dinner better than Kettler's supper. The burgomaster was a
fine-looking man, pleasant-mannered and intelligent, and a lover of peace
and quietness. His wife, whom he adored, ought to have loved him, since
he was by no means one of those husbands whose motto is, "Displease whom
you like, so long as you please me."

On her husband's going out for a short time, she shewed me over the