this, all the noble qualities of heart and soul are united in him,
and he must consequently be loved by all who know him."

Meanwhile, before these letters reached Martinique, chance had
already otherwise decided the fate of Mary, the second daughter of
M. de la Pagerie. With one sentence it had destroyed all the family
schemes. After three days of confinement to a bed of sickness, Mary
had died of a violent fever, and when the letter, in which the
Marquis de Beauharnais asked for her hand, reached her father, she
had been buried three months.

M. Tascher de la Pagerie hastened to announce her death to the
Marquis and to Madame de Renaudin; and to prove to them how much he
also had at heart a union of the two families, he offered to his
son, the chevalier, the hand of his third daughter, the little
twelve-year-old Desiree. Undoubtedly it would have been more
gratifying to him if the choice of the marquis had fallen upon his
eldest daughter, and he makes this known very clearly in his answer
to Madame de Renaudin.

"My eldest daughter," writes he, "Josephine, who is lately returned
from the convent, and who has often desired me to take her to
France, will, believe me, be somewhat sensitive at the preference
given to her younger sisters. Josephine has a beautiful head,
beautiful eyes and arms, and also a wonderful talent for music.
During her stay in the convent I procured her a guitar-teacher; she
has made the best of the instruction received, and she has a
glorious voice. It is a pity she has not the opportunity of
completing her education in France; and were I to have my wish, I
would bring her to you instead of my other two daughters."