“Thank you, dear,” she murmured.  “I have not been so near your heart for a long time.”

Her loveliness postponed disaster.  Enamoured by her beauty, rescued to humanity, Claes returned for a brief interval to the family life, and was adorable to his wife, charming to his children.  When they were alone together, Josephine questioned him as to his secret work, telling him that she had begun to study chemistry in order that she might share his life.  Touched by this devotion, Claes declared his secret.  A Polish officer had come to their house in 1809, and had discussed chemistry with Claes.  The result of the conversations had set Claes to search for the single element out of which all things are perhaps composed.  The Polish officer had confided certain secrets to him, saying:  “You are a disciple of Lavoisier; you are wealthy, you are free; I will give you my idea.  The Primitive Element must be common to oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon.  Force must be the common principle of positive and negative electricity.  Demonstrate these two hypotheses, and you will hold in your hands the First Cause, the solution of the great riddle of existence.”

As Claes rattled away, Josephine suddenly exclaimed, against her will:  “So it was this man, who spent but one night with us, that stole your love from me and your children!  Did he make the Sign of the Cross?  Did you observe him closely?  He was Satan!  Only the devil could have stolen you from me.  Ever since his visit you have ceased to be father and husband.”

“Do you rebuke me,” Balthazar asked, “for being superior to common men?”

And he poured out a tale of his achievements.  In the height of his passion for her Josephine had never seen his face so shining with enthusiasm as it was now.  Tears came into her eyes.

“I have combined chlorine and nitrogen,” he rhapsodised; “I have analysed endless substances.  I have analysed tears!  Tears are nothing more than phosphate of lime, chloride of sodium, mucus, and water.”

He ran on till she cried upon him to stop.

“You horrify me,” she said, “with your blasphemies.  What my love is——­”

“Spiritualised matter, given off,” replied Claes; “the secret, no doubt, of the Absolute.  If I am the first to find it out!  Think of it!  I will make metals and diamonds.  What Nature does I will do.”

“You trespass on God!” Josephine exclaimed impatiently.  “You deny God!  Ah, God has a force which you will never exercise!”

“What is that?” he demanded.

“Motion.  Analysis is one thing, creation is another,” she said.  Her pleadings were successful.  Balthazar abandoned his researches, and the family removed to the country.  He was awakened by his wife’s love to the knowledge that he had brought his fortune to the verge of ruin.  He promised to abandon his experiments.  As some amends, he threw himself into preparations for a great ball at the Maison Claes in honour of his wedding