Besides his public duties, M. de Nailles was occupied by financial speculations—­operations that were no doubt made necessary by the style of living commented on by his cousin, Madame de Monredon, who was as stingy as she was bitter of tongue.  The elegance that she found fault with was, however, very far from being great when compared with the luxury of the present day.  Of course, the Baronne had to have her horses, her opera-box, her fashionable frocks.  To supply these very moderate needs, which, however, she never insisted upon, being, so far as words went, most simple in her tastes, M. de Nailles, who had not the temperament which makes men find pleasure in hard work, became more and more fatigued.  His days were passed in the Chamber, but he never neglected his interest on the Bourse; in the evening he accompanied his young wife into society, which, she always declared, she did not care for, but which had claims upon her nevertheless.  It was therefore not surprising that M. de Nailles’s face showed traces of the habitual fatigue that was fast aging him; his tall, thin form had acquired a slight stoop; though only fifty he was evidently in his declining years.  He had once been a man of pleasure, it was said, before he entered politics.  He had married his first wife late in life.  She was a prudent woman who feared to expose him to temptation, and had kept him as far as possible away from Paris.

In the country, having nothing to do, he became interested in agriculture, and in looking after his estate at Grandchaux.  He had been made a member of the Conseil General, when unfortunately death too early deprived him of the wise and gentle counsellor for whom he felt, possibly not a very lively love, but certainly a high esteem and affection.  After 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.