"Are they French?"

"They are all from Piedmont or Savoy; I am the only Frenchman here."

"What part of France do you come from?"

"From Lorraine; my father, who is eighty years old, is the Marquis
Desarmoises. He only keeps on living to spite me, for as I married
against his wishes he has disinherited me. However, as I am his only son,
I shall inherit his property after his death, in spite of him. My house
is at Lyons, but I never go there, as I have the misfortune to be in love
with my eldest daughter, and my wife watches us so closely as to make my
courtship hopeless."

"That is very fine; otherwise, I suppose, your daughter would take pity
on her amorous papa?"

"I daresay, for she is very fond of me, and has an excellent heart."




CHAPTER XX

My Adventures at Aix--My Second M. M.--Madame Zeroli

This man, who, though he did not know me, put the utmost confidence in
me, so far from thinking he was horrifying me by the confession of such
wickedness, probably considered he was doing me a great honour. While I