artillery, and his chiefs like him. His colonel was for a long time
under orders of Monsieur Le Menil's uncle, General La Briche.
If Monsieur Le Menil would ask his uncle to write to Colonel Faure in
favor of my nephew I should be grateful to him. My nephew is not a
stranger to Monsieur Le Menil. They met last year at the masked ball
which Captain de Lassay gave at the hotel at Caen."

Madame Marmet cast down her eyes and added:

"The invited guests, naturally, were not society women. But it is said
some of them were very pretty. They came from Paris. My nephew, who
gave these details to me, was dressed as a coachman. Monsieur Le Menil
was dressed as a Hussar of Death, and he had much success."

Miss Bell said that she was sorry not to have known that M. Le Menil was
in Florence. Certainly, she should have invited him to come to Fiesole.

Dechartre remained sombre and distant during the rest of the dinner: and
when, at the moment of leaving, Therese extended her hand to him, she
felt that he avoided pressing it in his.