On arriving at Senlis it became sufficiently evident, from the state of inactivity in which I was left, that the object of the King, or rather of his minister, was solely to remove me from the neighbourhood of Mademoiselle de Villardin; and that no real necessity existed for my presence with a regiment quartered at a distance from any danger, and employed in no service whatever. Although the rash despair to which I had formerly yielded had now quitted my mind, I trust, for ever, yet I fell into a state of deep despondency, from which I was only roused for a moment on those days when I received one of the frequent letters with which Laura endeavoured to console me. From Father Ferdinand and the Count de Loris I heard less frequently, and their letters, certainly, gave me less food for hope than those of Laura. They had left the PrÉs VallÉe about ten days after I myself had quitted it, and had proceeded to Paris to petition the King in person. As it was judged expedient to secure some female companion for the young heiress during the absence of all her guardians, one of the nuns of St. Ursula, having obtained a dispensation to that effect, remained with Laura at the PrÉs VallÉe; but, as she exercised no control over her actions, this arrangement did not at all interrupt our constant communication. The journey of Father Ferdinand and the Count, however, produced no very rapid effects. Several weeks passed before they could obtain a private audience; and when, at length, it was granted, the only reply they received was, that the King acknowledged my services, and would consider my claims.

It appeared to me that no great consideration was wanting; but while this intentional delay continued, the month of May ushered in our military operations. The King put himself at the head of the army destined to cover the frontier; and Turenne led a small force, of which my regiment formed a part, to the siege of Dunkirk. I will not pause upon the details of a campaign which, having taken place so lately, is too well known to need any relation. My own conduct during the year that followed was, of course, greatly affected by the circumstances in which I stood. Although I did not forget the exhortations to prudence which I had received from Monsieur de Villardin, yet it was not in my nature to calculate personal dangers; and the eagerness which I now felt, by important services, to shame down all opposition to my just claims, quickened every faculty, and made me lose no opportunity. As I knew, however, that the eye of the bravest, but most cautious, general of the age was upon me, I endeavoured, as far as possible, to guard against even the appearance of imprudence; and, luckily, I was in this, at least, quite successful. Knowing that in the siege a cavalry regiment would probably have but little opportunity of distinguishing itself, I endeavoured, in our march upon Dunkirk, to find those occasions for service which I might afterwards be deprived of; and as the enemy's preparations were rapid and energetic, I was tolerably successful. The greatest service which I was thus enabled to render was at the passage of the Lys. Having been thrown forward to reconnoitre, I came suddenly upon a redoubt of the enemy, placed to defend the very passage upon which the army was marching. I was suffered to approach so near without being noticed, that I thought I might as well push on; and, dismounting one of the troops, I was in possession of the place, to my own surprise, as well as that of the Spaniards, before they knew anything of our approach.

But two men were lost in the momentary struggle which took place in the redoubt; and instantly sending news to the Marshal of our unexpected success, I had the satisfaction of seeing the army pass the river without the slightest opposition. At night I was called to the quarters of Monsieur de Turenne, with whom I had a long private interview, in which I explained to him my precise situation, and told him the great incentive to exertion which was now before me.

"Well, well, my son," he said, in a kindly tone, as I took my leave; "well, well, I will do my best for you; and fear not that your services shall have a fair report at Court."

This promise with some men might not have implied much, but it was Turenne who spoke, and the words did not convey one half of his intentions in my favour. The siege of Dunkirk succeeded; and no day passed without my being furnished with some means of obtaining honour and applause. I endeavoured to deserve such kindness; and whether employed in covering the foraging parties, or in the more laborious and less glorious occupation of bringing fascines, I tried, by activity, perseverance, and care, to distinguish myself from others to whom the same services were assigned. At length the Spanish army, commanded by the Prince de Condo, advanced to the succour of Dunkirk, and the famous battle of the Sand Hills took place. Under the command of the Marquis of Castelnau, my regiment formed part of the left wing, which, marching along the river, turned the enemy's flank; and I had here every opportunity of displaying whatever military qualities I might possess. My men seconded me most gallantly; and the Marquis de Castelnau being severely wounded, the command of the two thousand seven hundred men, of which alone that division was composed, fell upon me for the time.

Turenne himself thanked me the next morning, at the head of my regiment, for the services I had rendered; and Dunkirk having surrendered shortly after, I heard, with no small satisfaction, that the young King himself, with all his Court, was about to visit the camp. Unfortunately, the smallness of our force, and the great want of cavalry, caused the regiments of horse to be in continual requisition; and two days before the arrival of the King, I was detached towards Bergues, in order, as far as possible, to prevent the enemy from taking measures to retard our progress in the siege of that town, which was now determined. I saw that Turenne was grieved when he gave the order; but, of course, he could suffer no private consideration to interfere with the service of the King.

Bergues was soon taken, and a number of other places followed, the most important of which was Gravelines. At length the siege of Ypres was determined; but ere the trenches were opened, an event occurred which prevented my witnessing the rest of the campaign. In the course of our march upon Menin, a report reached head-quarters, that the Prince de Lignes, with a small force, was posted at the distance of a league and a half, and Turenne immediately detached the Comte de Roye in order to dislodge the enemy. My regiment formed part of the force under that officer's command; and the position of the Prince de Lignes was soon forced, his infantry nearly cut to pieces, and his cavalry in full retreat. The pursuit was entrusted to myself, and I followed the enemy almost to the gates of Ypres. There, however, they rallied, made a gallant charge, and in the melee I received a severe cut on the head, which passed through my helmet and even wounded the skull. I was under the horse's feet in an instant, but luckily I received no further injury; and when I recovered from the stunning effect of the blow, I found myself a prisoner in the town of Ypres.

Surgeons were busy dressing my wounds, and one or two officers of some rank were standing round the table on which I had been laid. As I opened my eyes, one of the lookers-on bade another tell the Prince; and in a moment after, the Prince de Lignes was standing by my side. After asking the surgeon whether he might speak with me, with due regard to ray safety, and hearing his opinion that I was not seriously injured, he addressed me by my name.

"Monsieur de Juvigny," he said, "we are happy in having taken an officer of your merit and distinction, as probably you can give us some information which the other prisoners are either not able or not willing to afford. What we wish to know is, whether Monsieur de Turenne does or does not really intend to sit down before this place?"

I felt some difficulty in articulating; but I replied as well as I could, "You must be aware, sir, that it is my duty to refuse answers to all such questions."

"Certainly," he rejoined, "if by so doing you contributed to put us on our guard, or to afford any facility for opposing the enemy; but I give you my honour that we have neither means nor inclination to make any farther preparations than we have done for the defence of the place, and my sole purpose in asking the question is, to send away, out of pure compassion, a number of the poor and needy citizens, who must die of starvation if Monsieur de Turenne attempts to reduce the place by famine; which must be his plan if he have any design against Ypres, as I find he has no battering train with his army. As a good soldier, and a worthy gentleman, you will see at once that every principle of humanity requires me to clear the town of all unnecessary mouths. You yourself, and all the other wounded and prisoners, must be sent off to Brussels, at all risks, if such should be the intention of the French general: so answer me candidly, I entreat you."

"Sir," I replied, "you must judge of what your duty requires of you--mine is straightforward. If it be the intention of Monsieur de Turenne to starve you out, the more persons you have to feed, the better for his purpose; and although, I confess, I would fain escape being sent to Brussels in my present state, yet I can give you no information."

"I must even send you thither, then," replied the Prince; and in a brief conversation with the other officers present, I heard him say, "Oh! depend upon it, if they were not determined to attack the place, he would say so, to avoid the journey."

"No, indeed, Monsieur le Prince!" I exclaimed. "You are mistaken. I would not give you one tittle of intelligence if I knew that Monsieur de Turenne was going to retread his steps to-morrow."

The Prince smiled, and left the room; and after having been tended carefully during the rest of that evening and the following night, I was put into a carriage early the next morning, and, with a number of other wounded persons, as well as prisoners, and all those who were desirous of quitting the town, was sent on, not indeed to Brussels, but to Tournay.

Fearful that a report of my being killed might reach Laura, I sat up at the first halting-place, and--in spite of all remonstrances from a surgeon who accompanied us--wrote a letter to the PrÉs VallÉe, assuring her, that though a prisoner, and slightly wounded, I was in no danger. Of this letter the commander of our little escort, a gallant young Spaniard, who spoke French very tolerably, took charge, promising to despatch it to France by the very first opportunity.

Whether it was the heat of the weather, the fatigue of the journey, or, as the surgeon predicted, the exertion of writing which irritated my wound, I cannot tell, but, ere I reached the end of our second day's march, I was in all the raving delirium of a high fever. For nearly three weeks the days passed over my head without leaving any remembrance behind them; and when I recovered my senses, I found myself reduced to infant weakness, and lying in a chamber which was evidently not the ward of an hospital, as my last recollections induced me to believe would be the case. It was a small neat room, cool and shady; and I found a nurse constantly by my bedside, while a surgeon visited me three times each day.--At first I was much too feeble to ask any questions; but, on the second or third morning after I began to recover, I begged the nurse to toll me where I was, when, to my surprise, I was told that I was in Tournay, and in the quarters of the Prince de CondÉ. The next day I was visited by several French officers, who had accompanied his Highness into exile; and when I was well enough to sit up for a short time, the Prince himself condescended to visit me, and remained with me alone for a full hour, making me tell him my whole history. The fate of Monsieur de Villardin, of which he had not yet heard, seemed to grieve him much; and when he left me he said, with one of those frank, brilliant smiles, which sometimes illuminated a countenance that usually was more striking than prepossessing, "Well, well, De Juvigny, I will think of what I can do to serve you; and as hostilities are suspended, and a treaty of peace is under negotiation, I may have it more in my power to show you that I have not forgot Vincennes, than I have yet had since we met there."

I trusted that it might be so, especially as I had candidly told the Prince my situation in regard to Mademoiselle de Villardin, only hoping when I did so, to obtain my liberty more speedily. The news, however, that hostilities were suspended, and that peace was likely to be concluded, gave me the hope of soon holding my beloved Laura to my heart once more, as no pretext for separating us again would then exist. Having now shown my obedience to the monarch I served, and fully done my duty as a soldier, I determined to yield no more; and resolved, as a last resource, if any attempt should be made to reject my claim to Laura's hand, to beg her to unite her fate to mine, without the consent of any monarch on the earth, and try our fate in my native land, where the prospects were now brightened by the death of the usurper.

From that day till I had completely recovered my health, I did not again see the Prince de CondÉ; and, on inquiring for him when I was well enough to go out, I found that he was absent from Tournay, and not likely to come back for more than a week. These tidings vexed me a good deal, as I was now most anxious to return to France. No opposition, however, was made to my going out into the town, or even beyond the gates; and I found every facility of obtaining money amongst the merchants of the place. Thus I might at any time have effected my escape, had I been so inclined. But although my parole had never been even asked, the kindness which had been shown me by the Prince was a surer bond than links of iron; and I lingered on in Tournay with some degree of fretful impatience, but still gaining additional strength and health every hour. Had I known where to address a letter to his Highness, I certainly would have written to him; but he was moving from place to place, and even the French officers who remained in Tournay could not give me the necessary information. Thus passed nearly four weeks; and the world again began to assume the aspect of spring. It was now more than a year since I had seen Laura, and fully four months since I had heard from her or from Father Ferdinand; and there was a sort of dim uncertainty about the events which might have taken place in the interim that made my heart sometimes feel sick with apprehension.

At length, one night when I had returned home--as I called my little room in the Prince's quarters--more gloomy than ever, and was sitting by lamp-light, consoling myself in the only way I could devise, by writing to Laura for the third or fourth time since my recovery, I heard a good deal of bustle in the courts, and in about an hour afterwards, I was summoned to attend the Prince de CondÉ. Overjoyed at his return, I hurried to his presence, and found him quite alone. I believe the gladness of my heart sparkled out upon my countenance; for though there was a good deal of vexation and chagrin in his own face, yet he smiled when he saw me.

"You seem glad of my return, De Juvigny," he said, "but I am going to send you away from me directly. When I offered to set you free in Paris, in recompence for former services, or to reserve the consideration of them till another moment and put you to ransom, I did not think I should be so long ere I could do anything for you. Even now, all I can do is to make a messenger of you. However, the letter with which I am about to charge you may be worth the pains of carrying, if you know how to take advantage of it. The fact is, Spain and France are negotiating. Spain holds out on my account. The whole business annoys me. I fear not to be left to stand or fall by my own strength; and I do not wish to delay the arrangement of peace, so necessary to both countries, for any private interests of my own. I have consequently written this letter to Don Louis de Haro, the minister of his Catholic Majesty, beseeching him to put my personal affairs entirely on one side, while considering the far more important business of peace. No one more eagerly desires the conclusion of the negotiations than my royal cousin Louis of France; and to him I now send you, begging you to put this letter for Don Louis into the King's own hands, and request him, on my part, to make what use of it he will. The man who brings it to him, De Juvigny," he added with a gay smile, "may well command the hand of the first heiress in France; and if I obtain for you, by this means, the woman that you love, I shall conceive that I have acquitted myself well towards you."

I need hardly say that my gratitude was deep and sincere, and after expressing it as well as I could, I received the Prince's farther directions; and the next morning mounted a horse I had bought in the city, and, followed by four of the troopers of my own regiment--who had been taken in attempting to rescue me, and whom I had since found in Tournay--I set out for Paris, furnished with all the necessary passports. The poor fellows who accompanied me were delighted to find that the Prince had agreed to liberate them without exchange; and I need hardly say, that although I doubted not that difficulties and annoyances were still before me, my heart, too, beat more lightly than it had done for many a day. Thus we lost no time on the road; and as fast as our beasts would carry us, made our way to Paris. It was after nightfall when we arrived, but without pause or hesitation I proceeded direct to the palace, and giving my name and quality to the attendants, I begged them to inform his Majesty and the Cardinal that I had intelligence of the utmost importance to communicate. The Cardinal, one of the pages informed me, had set out for the Spanish frontier some days before; but my message having been sent through all the proper channels to the King, I received, in reply, an order to present myself the next morning an hour before grand mass.

This was a disappointment; for I had fully calculated upon the news which I bore procuring me an immediate reception; but kings are so much accustomed to hear that their subjects have intelligence of importance to communicate, and to find that it refers to some petty interest or some private suit, that his Majesty fully believed my tidings to refer to my own affairs. The next morning I was at the Tuilleries at the exact moment; but, much to my annoyance and disgust, I was kept in an antechamber till the bells for mass sounded all over the town, and remained there alone till the service of the church was over. More than a quarter of an hour passed, after I had learned that mass was done, seeing from the windows the people trotting home through the dirty streets, ere an attendant summoned me to the presence of the King. I was too much accustomed to various scenes, and had too frequently looked a sterner monarch in the face, to feel any agitation upon approaching any king upon earth; but in the interview that was about to take place, dearer interests than life itself were concerned; and when I thought of Laura, my heart certainly beat with a quicker pulse as I moved towards the royal presence.

After passing through several other apartments, the door of a cabinet was thrown open by the page, and immediately after I found myself before the young king, and in the midst of a circle which clearly showed me that my application for an audience had been supposed to refer to my personal concerns. On the King's right hand stood Monsieur de Turenne, and on his left the secretary, Le Tellier. The Queen-mother also was present, together with several ladies, and one or two nuns, whose garb was certainly more harmonious with the cloister than the court; but on the Monarch's left appeared Father Ferdinand, the Count de Loris, and the ancient friend of both my father and myself, the good old Earl of Norwich. One of Monsieur de Villardin's first cousins was there also, and his presence did not seem to augur well for my suit. A few of the officers of the Court made up the group, and as I ran my eye over it in advancing, I was glad to find that the majority of those present were certainly inclined to support my pretensions. As the feelings of the King himself, however, were of far greater importance, I tried to gather from his countenance what was passing in his heart; and, accustomed as I had been from my early years to scan the faces of my fellow-men, I saw enough to give me some confidence. His brow was strongly contracted, it is true; and he fixed his eye upon me, as I entered, with an air of stern majesty which spoke anything but favour. At the same time, however, there was the least possible inclination towards a smile lurking about the corner of his mouth; and with this key to the rest, as I knew that I had done nothing to deserve severity, I judged that the stern frown upon his brow was too bitter to be entirely natural.

I advanced and kissed the hand he held out to me, and then drew a step back while he said, "Monsieur le Baron, you have desired an audience; and we are, in some degree, prepared for the business you have to speak of. Explain yourself, therefore, and doubt not that we shall do you justice."

I again advanced; and, well knowing that to forget the communication of the Prince de CondÉ, even for a moment, in my own hopes and fears, would be a subject of deep offence to the King, as well as the very worst policy in my own affairs, I bent my knee, and at once tendered his Highness's letter, saying, "Having had the good fortune, sire, to be wounded and taken prisoner in your----"

"The good fortune, sir!" exclaimed the King. "Do you call being wounded and imprisoned good fortune?"

"It certainly is so, sire," I answered, "when it is in the service of a prince who rewards all his servants far more than they deserve, and compensates, tenfold, everything that is suffered in his cause."

The King smiled, and bade me go on.--"Having, then, the good fortune, sire," I continued, "to be wounded and taken prisoner in your Majesty's service, I fell into the power of his Highness the Prince de CondÉ, who, on setting me at liberty, charged me to deliver into your royal hand this letter, begging that you would be graciously pleased to make what use of it you, in your wisdom, shall think fit, to remove all difficulties from your gracious purpose of restoring peace to Europe."

The Queen-mother half rose from her chair, and Le Tellier took a step forward to receive, according to custom, the paper which I tendered to the King; but Louis took it himself at once, and opening the letter, which was not sealed, read the contents eagerly. "Indeed!" he cried, when he had concluded. "Indeed! Is he so generous? Then we must not suffer him to out-do us in generosity! Monsieur de Juvigny, the bringing us that letter from our noble cousin adds weight to your other services. Read, madam," he added, giving the paper to the Queen-mother; "read, and after having settled this other affair, we will take your Majesty's counsel as to what is to be done."

Anne of Austria read the letter attentively; and as the conclusion of a final peace with Spain was now her first desire, I could see her countenance beam with satisfaction as she saw that the only obstacle to the accomplishment of that wish was removed by the voluntary act of the Prince de CondÉ. When she had done, she gave the letter to the secretary, and at the same time bent a gracious smile upon me, saying, "You have indeed brought us news, young gentleman, well worthy of honour and reward!"

The King himself immediately proceeded, again assuming the somewhat stern air with which he had at first received me. "Monsieur le Baron de Juvigny," he said, "you have at different times highly distinguished yourself in our service; and Monsieur de Turenne here present gives the most favourable report of your military skill and qualities. All services rendered to ourselves we are certainly willing to recompense even more liberally than bare justice might require; but we understand that you aim at the hand of the first heiress in France--a match for a prince--an alliance which we should not scruple to seek for a member of our own family. This is estimating your claims somewhat too highly."

"Sire!" I replied, "it is not upon any small services I may have rendered to your Majesty, nor upon my long and undeviating attachment to the royal cause, before genius and wisdom had swept away the difficulties that surrounded it, nor upon some sufferings which I have endured in the course of my career, that I found my claim to the hand of Mademoiselle de Villardin. I found it upon her father's promise and her own; I found it upon her father's will, and upon his express application to your Majesty; and, more than all, I found it upon the deep attachment that exists between us. Both her guardians, one of whom is her nearest relative, consent to our union; and, indeed, they are bound to do so by the will of her father."

"But here, sir," said the King, "is her father's next of kin, who positively objects to her marriage with one, whose birth, for aught we know, may be very inferior."

"I appeal to that English nobleman, sire," I replied, pointing to the Earl of Norwich, "who has known me from my birth, and who will answer for it, that the blood of my father and my mother was as pure as any in the realm of France, however poor we all might have become by the changes of this uncertain world."

"Ay, there is the fact!" answered Louis. "Ought I to bestow the hand of this great heiress upon one who may have much merit and even noble blood, but who sought these shores an absolute adventurer?"

The colour mounted into my face; and although I had hitherto been as cautious as possible, some of my ancient abruptness broke forth, and I replied, "I have known princes begin their career as much adventurers as I was----!" From the King's eye I saw that all was lost if I did not mend my speech, and I added:--"I have seen princes begin their career as much adventurers as I was, who were destined to become the greatest monarchs on the earth."

The cloud was done away instantly, and a smile succeeded upon the countenance of the young King, while Monsieur de Turenne, who had bit his lip nearly through at the first part of my reply, drew a long breath, as if relieved by its conclusion.

"We do not doubt your merit, sir," answered his Majesty; "and as far as we ourselves are concerned, can, of course, have no objection to your union to this young lady, not designing her for any one else. But the vast inequality of your fortunes, and the opposition of her father's nearest kinsman----"

"Which I beg most strenuously to urge," cried the cousin.

"Do not interrupt me, sir," said the King, sternly. "These two circumstances offer invincible obstacles to your immediate marriage, unless you can show some motive for my disregarding the objection of this gentleman, and for believing that you are influenced by no interested motive whatever, in the attachment you declare yourself to feel towards this young lady."

I paused, in order to be sure that the King had completely finished; but ere I could reply myself, Father Ferdinand advanced a little, and addressed the King.--"I believe, sire," he said, "that the first and strongest objection is, that a gentleman calling himself the nearest male relative of the late Duke de Villardin refuses his consent to the marriage of Monsieur de Juvigny with our ward Laura. That objection I can remove, by telling this gentleman that he is not the nearest male relative of the late Duke."

"Who, then, is?" demanded the other, fiercely.

"I am!" answered the priest, gazing sternly upon him. "I am Ferdinand de Villardin, the elder brother of the late Duke--he who, more than forty years ago, as you may have heard, young Sir, abjured the world--resigned his possessions and his rank--and, spreading abroad his own death, for twenty years buried himself in an Italian cloister. Of these facts, sire," he added, turning to the King, "I have already given you satisfactory proof; and I now declare, that the full consent of her father's nearest of kin is given to Laura de Villardin's union with him who was more than a son to her late parent."

"And in regard to my attachment to her being disinterested, sire," I added, "take from her all her possessions, and give me but herself--I ask no more."

"You think that it is impossible such a thing should happen, Monsieur de Juvigny," answered the monarch, gravely; "and, certainly, it is impossible that we should strip our subjects of their property; but it is not at all impossible that another claimant to this young lady's lands may appear, and we tell you fairly that such is the case. Not four days ago, it was clearly proved to us that Mademoiselle de Villardin has no claim whatever to one acre of her father's lands. What say you now?"

"They come not to me, my son," said Father Ferdinand, seeing my eyes turn toward* him. "My claim upon them has been null for years."

"What say you now?" repeated the King, gazing upon me with an expectant smile.

"That most thankfully--as the greatest boon that your Majesty can bestow," I answered, "as a reward for all my services, and as a tie of gratitude towards you for ever--I claim the hand of Laura de Villardin; and only thank Heaven, that no inequality of fortune can now make any one believe I seek her from aught but love."

A smile of majestic satisfaction beamed upon the countenance of the young monarch; but for several moments he continued to gaze upon me without uttering a word; and, of course, the same silence was preserved by every one in the presence. "You have stood every trial well, Monsieur de Juvigny," said the King, at length. "You have obeyed our commands at a moment when they were most difficult to obey. You have proved that your loyalty as a lover is no less perfect than your gallantly as a soldier; and all I shall regret, in signing your marriage contract, is, that your bride will not bring you as noble a fortune as you once expected. My consent to your marriage is fully given; there is only the approbation of one other person to be asked. Monsieur de. Loris, be good enough to open that door. What say you, madam? Do you consent likewise?"

As he spoke, the King turned towards one of the nuns, who stood behind the Queen's chair, covered with the Ursuline veil. At the same moment, Monsieur de Loris opened a door which communicated with the great audience hall, and two more persons were instantly added to our party. They were Laura de Villardin, and, hand in hand, my little page Clement de la Marke, dressed in all the splendour of a high noble of those days, and entering with a step that seemed familiar with courtly halls.

Another sight, however, had rivetted all my attention, and, I may say, had struck me dumb, for I actually stood in the midst of the circle like a statue, without life or motion, as the nun, to whom the King had spoken, raising her veil, exposed to my sight features deeply engraved on the tablet of memory, and connected with many a sweet and many a terrible remembrance in the past. Pale and worn, but still beautiful, though more than twelve long years, loaded with grief, had passed over her head--it was Madame de Villardin herself that gazed upon me; and as I stood thunderstruck before her, she advanced and embraced me as her son. Clement de la Marke clung to me too--the whole truth flashed upon my mind; and, forgetful of all else but that Laura was mine, and the dead alive again, I embraced them all in turn; while Anne of Austria wiped away a tear, and Louis turned with a smile of generous feeling to Turenne.

"Monsieur de Juvigny," said the King, as soon as my first joy was somewhat moderated, "forgive me for my coup de thÉatre; but I wished to have my full share in your joy and your surprise. Though your fair bride has lost the rich lauds of Villardin and Dumont, which go, of course, to my young Lord Duke here, yet she is still the heiress of Vermont and De Loris; and her soft hand is worth a lordship in itself. Every detail has been already given to me; and as there are some painful points in the history of every family, these good lords here present must even smother their curiosity as best they may; for, by my command, the many explanations which you may require will be afforded to you by your dear friends in private. You had better now retire to the hotel de Villardin; and hereafter you will find, that, as by your high qualities you have won yourself a beautiful bride, your services have not been rendered to an ungrateful master."