looked forward to the comfort of weeping in the arms of Jacqueline, who,
the last time she had seen her, had been herself so unhappy. But what
was her astonishment to find the young girl, who, a few weeks before, had
made her such tragic confidences through the grille in the convent
parlor, transformed into a creature bent on excitement and amusement.
When she attempted to allude to the subject on which Jacqueline had
spoken to her at the convent, and to ask her what it was that had then
made her so unhappy, Jacqueline cried: "Oh! my dear, I have forgotten
all about it!" But there was exaggeration in this profession of
forgetfulness, and she hurriedly drew Giselle back to the game of
croquet, where they were joined by M. de Talbrun.

The future husband of Giselle was a stout young fellow, short and thick-
set, with broad shoulders, a large flat face, and strong jaws, ornamented
with an enormous pair of whiskers, which partly compensated him for a
loss of hair. He had never done anything but shoot and hunt over his
property nine months in the year, and spend the other three months in
Paris, where the jockey Club and ballet-dancers sufficed for his
amusement. He did not pretend to be a man whose bachelor life had been
altogether blameless, but he considered himself to be a "correct" man,
according to what he understood by that expression, which implied neither
talents, virtues, nor good manners; nevertheless, all the Blue Band
agreed that he was a finished type of gentleman-hood. Even Raoul's
sisters had to confess, with a certain disgust, that, whatever people may
say, in our own day the aristocracy of wealth has to lower its flag
before the authentic quarterings of the old noblesse. They secretly
envied Giselle because she was going to be a grande dame, while all the
while they asserted that old-fashioned distinctions had no longer any
meaning. Nevertheless, they looked forward to the day when they, too,
might take their places in the Faubourg St. Germain. One may purchase