pillow that had supported Isabelle’s beloved head—­and lay there a prey to mournful and bitter meditations, until at last he could forget his troubles and grief in sleep.  There was not a vestige left of the brilliant Captain Fracasse, nor of the high-spirited rival of the haughty Duke of Vallombreuse; the unfortunate young Baron de Sigognac had relapsed entirely into the sad-eyed, dejected master of Castle Misery.

One morning he sauntered listlessly down into the garden, which was wilder and more overgrown than ever—­a tangled mass of weeds and brambles.  He mechanically directed his steps towards the straggling eglantine that had had a little rose ready for each of the fair visitors that accompanied him when last he was there, and was surprised and delighted to see that it again held forth, as if for his acceptance, two lovely little blossoms that had come out to greet him, and upon each of which a dewdrop sparkled amid the frail, delicately tinted petals.  He was strangely moved and touched by the sight of these tiny wild roses, which awoke such tender, precious memories, and he repeated to himself, as he had often done before, the words in which Isabelle had confessed to him that she had furtively kissed the little flower, his offering, and dropped a tear upon it, and then secretly given him her own heart in exchange for it—­surely the sweetest words ever spoken on this earth.  He gently plucked one of the dainty little roses, passionately inhaled its delicate fragrance and pressed a kiss upon it, as if it had been her lips, which were not less sweet, and soft, and fresh.  He had done nothing but think of Isabelle ever since their separation, and he fully realized now, if he had not before, how indispensable she was to his happiness.  She was never out of his mind, waking or sleeping, for he dreamed of her every night, and his love grew fonder, if that were possible, as the weary days went on.  She was so good and true, so pure and sweet, so beautiful, so everything that was lovely and desirable, “made of all creatures’ best,” a veritable angel in human guise.  Ah! how passionately he loved her—­how could he live without her?  Yet he feared—­he was almost forced to believe—­that he had lost her irreparably, and that for him hope was dead.  Those were terrible days for the poor, grief-stricken young baron, and he felt that he could not long endure such misery and live.  Two or three months passed away thus, and one day when de Sigognac chanced to be in his own room, finishing a sonnet addressed to Isabelle, Pierre entered, and announced to his master that there was a gentleman without who wished to speak with him.

“A gentleman, who wants to see me!” exclaimed the astonished baron.  “You must be either romancing or mad, my good Pierre!  There is no gentleman in the world who can have anything to say to me.  However, for the rarity of the thing, you may bring in this extraordinary mortal—­if such there really be, and you are not dreaming, as I shrewdly suspect.  But tell me his name first, or hasn’t he got any?”