deprive her of the benefits of her maternity."
"Mathias," cried Paul, in deep distress, "there are two sorts of ruin,

and you are bringing one upon me at this moment."
He made a step towards the old notary, no doubt intending to tell him

that the contract must be drawn at once. But Mathias stopped that
disaster with a glance which said, distinctly, "Wait!" He saw the

tears in Paul's eyes,--tears drawn from an honorable man by the shame
of this discussion as much as by the peremptory speech of Madame

Evangelista, threatening rupture,--and the old man stanched them with
a gesture like that of Archimedes when he cried, "Eureka!" The words

"peer of France" had been to him like a torch in a dark crypt.
Natalie appeared at this moment, dazzling as the dawn, saying, with

infantine look and manner, "Am I in the way?"
"Singularly so, my child," answered her mother, in a bitter tone.

"Come in, dear Natalie," said Paul, taking her hand and leading her to
a chair near the fireplace. "All is settled."

He felt it impossible to endure the overthrow of their mutual hopes.
"Yes, all can be settled," said Mathias, hastily interposing.

Like a general who, in a moment, upsets the plans skilfully laid and
prepared by the enemy, the old notary, enlightened by that genius

which presides over notaries, saw an idea, capable of saving the
future of Paul and his children, unfolding itself in legal form before

his eyes.
Maitre Solonet, who perceived no other way out of these irreconcilable

difficulties than the resolution with which Paul's love inspired him,
and to which this conflict of feelings and thwarted interests had

brought him, was extremely surprised at the sudden exclamation of his
brother notary. Curious to know the remedy that Mathias had found in a

state of things which had seemed to him beyond all other relief, he
said, addressing the old man:--

"What is it you propose?"
"Natalie, my dear child, leave us," said Madame Evangelista.

"Mademoiselle is not in the way," replied Mathias, smiling. "I am
going to speak in her interests as well as in those of Monsieur le

comte."
Silence reigned for a moment, during which time everybody present,

oppressed with anxiety, awaited the allocution of the venerable notary
with unspeakable curiosity.

"In these days," continued Maitre Mathias, after a pause, "the
profession of notary has changed from what it was. Political

revolutions now exert an influence over the prospects of families,
which never happened in former times. In those days existences were

clearly defined; so were rank and position--"
"We are not here for a lecture on political ceremony, but to draw up a

marriage contract," said Solonet, interrupting the old man,
impatiently.

"I beg you to allow me to speak in my turn as I see fit," replied the
other.

Solonet turned away and sat down on the ottoman, saying, in a low
voice, to Madame Evangelista:--

"You will now hear what we call in the profession 'balderdash.'"
"Notaries are therefore compelled to follow the course of political

events, which are now intimately connected with private interests.
Here is an example: formerly noble families owned fortunes that were

never shaken, but which the laws, promulgated by the Revolution,
destroyed, and the present system tends to reconstruct," resumed the

old notary, yielding to the loquacity of the "tabellionaris boa-
constrictor" (boa-notary). "Monsieur le comte by his name, his

talents, and his fortune is called upon to sit some day in the
elective Chamber. Perhaps his destiny will take him to the hereditary

Chamber, for we know that he has talent and means enough to fulfil
that expectation. Do you not agree with me, madame?" he added, turning

to the widow.
"You anticipate my dearest hope," she replied. "Monsieur de Manerville

must be a peer of France, or I shall die of mortification."
"Therefore all that leads to that end--" continued Mathias with a

cordial gesture to the astute mother-in-law.
"--will promote my eager desire," she replied.

"Well, then," said Mathias, "is not this marriage the proper occasion
on which to entail the estate and create the family? Such a course

would, undoubtedly, militate in the mind of the present government in
favor of the nomination of my clientwhenever a batch of appointments

is sent in. Monsieur le comte can very well afford to devote the
estate of Lanstrac (which is worth a million) to this purpose. I do

not ask that mademoiselle should contribute an equal sum; that would
not be just. But we can surely apply eight hundred thousand of her

patrimony to this object. There are two domains adjoining Lanstrac now
to be sold, which can be purchased for that sum, which will return in

rentals four and a half per cent. The house in Paris should be
included in the entail. The surplus of the two fortunes, if

judiciously managed, will amply suffice for the fortunes of the
younger children. If the contracting parties will agree to this

arrangement, Monsieur ought certainly to accept your guardianship
account with its deficiency. I consent to that."

"Questa coda non e di questo gatto (That tail doesn't belong to that
cat)," murmured Madame Evangelista, appealing to Solonet.

"There's a snake in the grass somewhere," answered Solonet, in a low
voice, replying to the Italian proverb with a French one.

"Why do you make this fuss?" asked Paul, leading Mathias into the
adjoining salon.

"To save you from being ruined," replied the old notary, in a whisper.
"You are determined to marry a girl and her mother who have already

squandered two millions in seven years; you are pledging yourself to a
debt of eleven hundred thousand francs to your children, to whom you

will have to account for the fortune you are acknowledging to have
received with their mother. You risk having your own fortune

squandered in five years, and to be left as naked as Saint-John
himself, besides being a debtor to your wife and children for enormous

sums. If you are determined to put your life in that boat, Monsieur le
comte, of course you can do as you choose; but at least let me, your

old friend, try to save the house of Manerville."
"How is this scheme going to save it?" asked Paul.

"Monsieur le comte, you are in love--"
"Yes."

"A lover is about as discreet as a cannon-ball; therefore, I shall not
explain. If you repeated what I should say, your marriage would

probably be broken off. I protect your love by my silence. Have you
confidence in my devotion?"

"A fine question!"
"Well, then, believe me when I tell you that Madame Evangelista, her

notary, and her daughter, are tricking us through thick and thin; they
are more than clever. Tudieu! what a sly game!"

"Not Natalie," cried Paul.
"I sha'n't put my fingers between the bark and the tree," said the old

man. "You want her, take her! But I wish you were well out of this
marriage, if it could be done without the least wrong-doing on your

part."
"Why do you wish it?"

"Because that girl will spend the mines of Peru. Besides, see how she
rides a horse,--like the groom of a circus; she is half emancipated

already. Such girls make bad wives."
Paul pressed the old man's hand, saying, with a confident air of self-

conceit:--
"Don't be uneasy as to that! But now, at this moment, what am I to

do?"
"Hold firm to my conditions. They will consent, for no one's apparent

interest is injured. Madame Evangelista is very anxious to marry her
daughter; I see that in her little game--Beware of her!"

Paul returned to the salon, where he found his future mother-in-law
conversing in a low tone with Solonet. Natalie, kept outside of these

mysterious conferences, was playing with a screen. Embarrassed by her
position, she was thinking to herself: "How odd it is that they tell