he be came a widower he met in the Pyrenees, where, as he was whiling
away the time of seclusion proper after his loss, a young lady who
appeared to him exactly the person he needed to bring up his little
daughter--because she was extremely attractive to himself. Of course
M. de Nailles found plenty of other reasons for his choice, which he gave
to the world and to himself to justify his second marriage--but this was
the true reason and the only one. His friends, however, all of whom had
urged on him the desirability of taking another wife, in consideration of
the age of Jacqueline, raised many objections as soon as he announced his
intention of espousing Mademoiselle Clotilde Hecker, eldest daughter of a
man who had been, at one time, a prefect under the Empire, but who had
been turned out of office by the Republican Government. He had a large
family and many debts; but M. de Nailles had some answer always ready for
the objections of his family and friends. He was convinced that
Mademoiselle Hecker, having no fortune, would be less exacting than other
women and more disposed to lead a quiet life.

She had been almost a mother to her own young brothers and sisters,
which was a pledge for motherliness toward Jacqueline, etc., etc.
Nevertheless, had she not had eyes as blue as those of the beauties
painted by Greuze, plenty of audacious wit, and a delicate complexion,
due to her Alsatian origin--had she not possessed a slender waist and a
lovely figure, he might have asked himself why a young lady who,
in winter, studied painting with the commendable intention of making
her own living by art, passed the summers at all the watering-places
of France and those of neighboring countries, without any perceptible
motive.

But, thanks to the bandage love ties over the eyes of men, he saw only
what Mademoiselle Clotilde was willing that he should see. In the first