the door where the printers had left their marks, the dilapidated

window, and the ceiling on which the apprentices had amused themselves
with drawing monstrosities with the smoky flare of their tallow dips,

the piles of paper and litter heaped up in the corners, intentionally
or from sheer neglect--in short, every detail of the picture lying

before his eyes, agreed so well with the facts alleged by the Marquise
that the judge, in spite of his impartiality, could not help believing

them.
"There you are, gentlemen," said the porter's wife; "there is the

manifactor, where the Chinese swallow up enough to feed the whole
neighborhood."

The clerk looked at the judge with a smile, and Popinot found it hard
to keep his countenance. They went together into the outer room, where

sat an old man, who, no doubt, performed the functions of office
clerk, shopman, and cashier. This old man was the Maitre Jacques of

China. Along the walls ran long shelves, on which the published
numbers lay in piles. A partition in wood, with a grating lined with

green curtains, cut off the end of the room, forming a private office.
A till with a slit to admit or disgorge crown pieces indicated the

cash-desk.
"M. d'Espard?" said Popinot, addressing the man, who wore a gray

blouse.
The shopman opened the door into the next room, where the lawyer and

his companion saw a venerable old man, white-headed and simply
dressed, wearing the Cross of Saint-Louis, seated at a desk. He ceased

comparing some sheets of colored prints to look up at the two
visitors. This room was an unpretentious office, full of books and

proof-sheets. There was a black wood table at which some one, at the
moment absent, no doubt was accustomed to work.

"The Marquis d'Espard?" said Popinot.
"No, monsieur," said the old man, rising; "what do you want with him?"

he added, coming forward, and showing by his demeanor the dignified
manners and habits due to a gentlemanly education.

"We wish to speak with him on business exclusively personal to
himself," replied Popinot.

"D'Espard, here are some gentlemen who want to see you," then said the
old man, going into the furthest room, where the Marquis was sitting

by the fire reading the newspaper.
This innermost room had a shabbycarpet, the windows were hung with

gray holland curtains; the furniture consisted of a few mahogany
chairs, two armchairs, a desk with a revolving front, an ordinary

office table, and on the chimney-shelf, a dingy clock and two old
candlesticks. The old man led the way for Popinot and his registrar,

and pulled forward two chairs, as though he were master of the place;
M. d'Espard left it to him. After the preliminary civilities, during

which the judge watched the supposedlunatic, the Marquis naturally
asked what was the object of this visit. On this Popinot glanced

significantly at the old gentleman and the Marquis.
"I believe, Monsieur le Marquis," said he, "that the character of my

functions, and the inquiry that has brought me here, make it desirable
that we should be alone, though it is understood by law that in such

cases the inquiries have a sort of family publicity. I am judge on the
Inferior Court of Appeal for the Department of the Seine, and charged

by the President with the duty of examining you as to certain facts
set forth in a petition for a Commission in Lunacy on the part of the

Marquise d'Espard."
The old man withdrew. When the lawyer and the Marquis were alone, the

clerk shut the door, and seated himself unceremoniously at the office
table, where he laid out his papers and prepared to take down his

notes. Popinot had still kept his eye on M. d'Espard; he was watching
the effect on him of this crude statement, so painful for a man in

full possession of his reason. The Marquis d'Espard, whose face was
usually pale, as are those of fair men, suddenly turned scarlet with

anger; he trembled for an instant, sat down, laid his paper on the
chimney-piece, and looked down. In a moment he had recovered his

gentlemanly dignity, and looked steadily at the judge, as if to read
in his countenance the indications of his character.

"How is it, monsieur," he asked, "that I have had no notice of such a
petition?"

"Monsieur le Marquis, persons on whom such a commission is held not
being supposed to have the use of their reason, any notice of the

petition is unnecessary. The duty of the Court chiefly consists in
verifying the allegations of the petitioner."

"Nothing can be fairer," replied the Marquis. "Well, then, monsieur,
be so good as to tell me what I ought to do----"

"You have only to answer my questions, omitting nothing. However
delicate the reasons may be which may have led you to act in such a

manner as to give Madame d'Espard a pretext for her petition, speak
without fear. It is unnecessary to assure you that lawyers know their

duties, and that in such cases the profoundest secrecy----"
"Monsieur," said the Marquis, whose face expressed the sincerest pain,

"if my explanations should lead to any blame being attached to Madame
d'Espard's conduct, what will be the result?"

"The Court may add its censure to its reasons for its decision."
"Is such censure optional? If I were to stipulate with you, before

replying, that nothing should be said that could annoy Madame d'Espard
in the event of your report being in my favor, would the Court take my

request into consideration?"
The judge looked at the Marquis, and the two men exchanged sentiments

of equal magnanimity.
"Noel," said Popinot to his registrar, "go into the other room. If you

can be of use, I will call you in.--If, as I am inclined to think," he
went on, speaking to the Marquis when the clerk had gone out, "I find

that there is some misunderstanding in this case, I can promise you,
monsieur, that on your application the Court will act with due

courtesy.
"There is a leading fact put forward by Madame d'Espard, the most

serious of all, of which I must beg for an explanation," said the
judge after a pause. "It refers to the dissipation of your fortune to

the advantage of a certain Madame Jeanrenaud, the widow of a
bargemaster--or rather, to that of her son, Colonel Jeanrenaud, for

whom you are said to have procured an appointment, to have exhausted
your influence with the King, and at last to have extended such

protection as secures him a good marriage. The petition suggests that
such a friendship is more devoted than any feelings, even those which

morality must disapprove----"
A sudden flush crimsoned the Marquis' face and forehead, tears even

started to his eyes, for his eyelashes were wet, then wholesome pride
crushed the emotions, which in a man are accounted a weakness.

"To tell you the truth, monsieur," said the Marquis, in a broken
voice, "you place me in a strange dilemma. The motives of my conduct

were to have died with me. To reveal them I must disclose to you some
secret wounds, must place the honor of my family in your keeping, and

must speak of myself, a delicate matter, as you will fully understand.
I hope, monsieur, that it will all remain a secret between us. You

will, no doubt, be able to find in the formulas of the law one which
will allow of judgment being pronounced without any betrayal of my

confidences."
"So far as that goes, it is perfectly possible, Monsieur le Marquis."

"Some time after my marriage," said M. d'Espard, "my wife having run
into considerable expenses, I was obliged to have recourse to

borrowing. You know what was the position of noble families during the
Revolution; I had not been able to keep a steward or a man of

business. Nowadays gentlemen are for the most part obliged to manage
their affairs themselves. Most of my title-deeds had been brought to

Paris, from Languedoc, Provence, or le Comtat, by my father, who
dreaded, and not without reason, the inquisition which family title-

deeds, and what was then styled the 'parchments' of the privileged
class, brought down on the owners.

"Our name is Negrepelisse; d'Espard is a title acquired in the time of