“And your dream shall be accomplished, my noble Isabelle; I feel sure of it—­but not altogether as you relate it to me; such an ending would be too sad and grievous.  You shall be the first, you, my own darling, with this dear hand clasped in mine, as now, to cross the threshold of that blessed abode, whence ruin and desolation shall have disappeared, and have been replaced by prosperity and happiness.”

“No, no, de Sigognac, it will be some great, and noble, and beautiful heiress, worthy of you in every way, who will accompany you then; one that you can present with just pride to all your friends, and of whom none can say, with a malicious smile, I hissed or applauded her at such a time and place.”

“It is downright cruelty on your part to show your self so adorable, so worthy of all love and admiration, my sweet Isabelle, and at the same time to deprive me of every hope,” said de Sigognac, ruefully; “to give one glimpse of heaven and then shut me out again; nothing could be more cruel.  But I will not despair; I shall make you yield to me yet.”

“Do not try, I beseech you,” continued Isabelle, with gentle firmness, “for I never shall; I should despise myself if I did.  Strive to be content, de Sigognac, with the purest, truest, most devoted love that ever filled a woman’s heart, and do not ask for more.  Is it such an unsatisfactory thing to you,” she added, with a bright smile, “to be adored by a girl that several men have had the bad taste to declare charming?  Why, even the Duke of Vallombreuse himself professes that he would be proud of it.”

“But to give yourself to me so absolutely, and to refuse yourself to me as absolutely! to mingle such sweet and bitter drops in the same cup—­honey and wormwood—­and present it to my lips! only you, Isabelle, could be capable of such strange contradictions.”

“Yes, I am an odd girl,” she replied, “and therein I resemble my poor mother; but such as I am you must put up with me.  If you should persist in persecuting me, I know well how I could elude and escape you, and where I could hide myself from you so that you would never be able to find me.  But there will be no need of that, we will not talk of it; our compact is made.  Let it be as I say, de Sigognac, and let us be happy together while we may.  It grows late now, and you must go to your own room; will you take with you these verses, of a part that does not suit me at all, and remodel them for me? they belong to a piece that we are to play very soon.  Let me be your faithful little friend, de Sigognac, and you shall be my great, and well-beloved poet.”

Isabelle, as she spoke, drew forth from a bureau a roll of manuscript, tied with a rose-coloured ribbon, which she gave to the baron with a radiant smile.

“Now kiss me, and go,” she said, holding up her cheek for his caress.  “You are going to work for me, and this is your reward.  Good-night, my beloved, good-night.”