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 A BRETON MAIDEN, 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
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 BORN IN THE PUKPLE. By Maxwell Fox. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 A NEW FACE AT THE DOOR. By Jane Stanley, 
 
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 A BRETON MAIDEN 
 
 BY 
 
 A FRENCH LADY 
 
 AUTHOR OF "TILL MY WEDDING-DAY.' 
 
 A troubled record .... 
 A simple record and serene." 
 Swinburne. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1888. 
 
 All Rights Bcservcd.
 
 8S3 
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ^ CHAPTER I. 
 
 ,' De Carnoet, examine me long and care- 
 
 "^'ullj', and tell me if I really am the same 
 
 'elegant and brilliant chevalier you knew 
 
 '^-'yesterday ! Do I appear to you as charm- 
 
 li'ing and as much of a lady-killer as ever? 
 
 jLook at my hands and feet ! Gaze at the 
 
 , Jieauty of my face, and say if there is not 
 
 -Jome change in me ! Am I the man to 
 
 jsvhom our beautiful Queen said but a 
 
 ^hort time since, " Monsieur de Valvourgs, 
 
 eOit is unfair of you to come with all the 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 charms of the courtier to our humble farm 
 of Trianon !" I pray you, De Carnoet, 
 look at me and say if I am in truth that 
 same man !' 
 
 And the young man, assuming the 
 most striking and graceful attitudes, stood 
 before his friend. He was indeed most 
 charming — young, bright, and handsome ; 
 with large black eyes and that dark com- 
 plexion common to men of the south. He 
 was dressed in a silk and satin suit, em- 
 broidered with silver and gold ; with rich 
 lace round his neck, and rich lace falling 
 over his dainty, small hands. 
 
 ' Well, De Valvourgs, I kncAv you to be 
 vain ; but not to such an extent ! What 
 can have happened to you ?' 
 
 ' Happened ! The most startling, sur- 
 prising, astonishing, amazing, stupifying 
 thing in the world ! Throw your tongue 
 to the dogs ! (style Sevigne !) — Give it up,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 6 
 
 my dear De Carnoet, and listen. I am a 
 married man !' 
 No!' 
 
 ' I am — a — married — man ! I am, 
 I believe, neither bigger nor smaller than 
 yesterday ; neither more serions nor more 
 frivolous ; yet for me everything is 
 changed.' 
 
 'You married ! I do not see . . .' 
 
 ' Yes, married ! Can you not fancy me 
 leading one tender nursling by my right 
 hand and one by my left ; or, like King 
 Henry the Fourth of worthy memory, 
 playing at horses and on all fours to 
 amuse the bantlings ? I, a married man 
 — the father of a family ! I am undone ! 
 I am undone !' 
 
 ' When you explain yourself, I may be 
 able to understand.' 
 
 '• It all comes from this : I was invited to 
 the house of a Dowager-Countess I had never 
 
 B 2
 
 4 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 seen before ; — I came, I saw, I conquered, 
 and I am to be married forthwith.' 
 'To the Dowager?' 
 
 ' No, not quite so bad as that ! To her 
 granddaughter, an orphan.' 
 
 ' But if she is young, rich, and pretty — ' 
 ' Young, rich, and pretty ! — You speak 
 comfortably, you who are left in all the 
 blessedness of bachelordom ; but is there 
 anything in the Avorld that can compensate 
 a man for the loss of his liberty ? The 
 truth is, however, that she is young and 
 rich. But as to her beauty I know abso- 
 lutely nothing about it ; yet I marry her 
 all the same.' 
 
 ' It is most gallant. But who forces . . . ?' 
 ' Who else but my uncle could force 
 me, since it is he who holds the purse- 
 strings — my uncle, who has never mar- 
 ried — thank Heaven — and who has lived 
 all his life in independence of Court
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 5 
 
 and men ? — You should have seen him 
 this morning, seated bolt upright in his 
 stiff arm-chair, with his grand Louis 
 Xiy.'s air, one leg crossed carefully 
 over the other, and trifling with his 
 jewelled snufF-box while he talked to me ! 
 He had sent for me, and I bowed low 
 before him on entering his room, as be- 
 hoves the heir-presumptive ; and he 
 replied to my salutation with a keen 
 look and an amused smile. — My uncle 
 is no fool, and on the whole, though 
 his heir, I am rather fond of him. — " My 
 nephew," he said, ''I am glad to see 
 you punctual at the rendezvous ; punc- 
 tuality is a kingly virtue." I bent low 
 and said to myself — " And of a nephew 
 who hopes for a heritage." — He seemed to 
 read my thoughts, and, smiling still, went 
 on, " I have to speak to you on a matter 
 of great importance." And he looked so
 
 6 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 kind and well-intentioned that I said to 
 myself, " Good heavens ! is he going 
 to make me his heir now?" But he — 
 '' Pray sit down, nephew, it will enable 
 you to bear more comfortably with my 
 news." I sat down, and he resumed. 
 "You know, my dear nephew, that your 
 forefathers have always been personages of 
 some importance at Court ; particularly 
 at that of Louis XIV. — that Court par 
 excellence ! It was a good idea of His Majesty 
 to invite all his great noblemen to come 
 and render him homage and contribute to 
 his glory ; for what could be more delightful 
 than to see the highest in the land vie 
 with one another in all kinds of exciting 
 pleasures and vanities, and prove to the 
 world at large, that the French nobility could 
 be the most elegant as well as the most 
 extravagant of those days ! Yes, it was 
 charming, — but it was high-priced. Be
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 7 
 
 proud, therefore, tliat your forefathers 
 were great at Court, and pleased that 
 they amused themselves right royally. 
 Only the misfortune is that they died 
 ruined, and left you no money to 
 live upon. — But this is an honour also, 
 since they spent their fortunes to please 
 their sovereign. — Fortunately for you, 
 however, the sons of my ancestors, sol- 
 diers from father to son, were satisfied 
 with shining at the head of their regi- 
 ments, which is not so costly a game ; 
 and to-day you are the heir of their glory 
 too. But on one condition — never forget 
 that — that you satisfy me and do my will 
 to the end." 
 
 ' 1 felt rather snubbed ; but, anxious to 
 assure him of my obedience, I said, 
 
 ' " Uncle, I would never " 
 
 ' " Yes, yes, you are very well ; you 
 spend your money in a manner worthy of
 
 8 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 your ancestors, and I find no special fault 
 with you so far. — But now I am going to 
 ask you to do something to please me. 
 I wish you to marry." 
 
 "'I marry!" I cried, alarmed beyond 
 description. — How thankful I was to be 
 seated ! 
 
 ' " I offer you my Chateau de Cahors 
 with an income that will enable you to 
 shine a little ; but, as for you it is neces- 
 sary to shine much, you will have to con- 
 tribute your share ; and I have ready 
 exactl}^ what you require — a young girl 
 barely eighteen, whose fortune will enable 
 you to live as you please." 
 
 ' " But, uncle " I cried, in despair. 
 
 Without noticing my interruption, how- 
 ever, he continued, 
 
 ' '* Otherwise you have left as a resource 
 to follow in my steps and those of my 
 forefathers, and join the army."
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 9 
 
 "'But, uncle, it is impossible tliat " 
 
 ' " Impossible ! Surely you are not 
 married already ?" 
 
 ' "No, no ! that is just what I meant to 
 say. It is too soon to marry at twenty- 
 six — just think, twenty-six " 
 
 ' But, my dear De Carnoet, what shall 
 I say ? I begged and begged at least for 
 time ; I even threatened to kill myself — 
 which amused him very much, and made 
 me laugh too on second thoughts. But it 
 was all of no use. It is settled ; and there 
 is no hope left for me. Oh ! that Dowager, 
 that Dowager, I shall never forgive her.' 
 
 ' It was your own fault, always run- 
 ning from conquest to conquest ! Imagine 
 what a very different future there would 
 be before you if you had not pleased — that 
 Dowager !* 
 
 ' You are laughing at me. But, all the 
 same, it is an awful thing to be called
 
 10 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 suddenly to break with all that makes life 
 delightful.' 
 
 ' And when is it to be ?' 
 
 ' Very soon. In fact my uncle is terri- 
 bly anxious about what is going on here 
 in Paris. He thinks we are simpletons to 
 wait quietly for all these dreadful things to 
 cease of themselves instead of preparing for 
 an inevitable struggle. He is furious with 
 the nobles who are giving up their feudal 
 privileges — " their rightful inheritance," as 
 he says — and with the others who are run- 
 ning away, as if they could not see it was 
 the most fatal course they could adopt ; — 
 for has it not been said often enough, 
 " les absents ont tonjoiirs tort."" He is leav- 
 ing Paris himself; but only to go to 
 his own place in Provence — disgusted 
 with it all, and really frightened at the 
 consequences he foresees. He was a 
 soldier, as I have told you, and nothing will
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 1 1 
 
 do for him but to call all the noblesse to 
 arms and gather them round the throne. 
 He thinks — excuse me, De Carnoet — that 
 we are all cowards for allowing the king 
 so tamely to submit to his fate, and for 
 looking on in such a state of helplessness, 
 and swallowing outrage after outrage with- 
 out giving sign of life. He has ordered 
 me to leave Paris at once ; and I must 
 very soon start for Brittany.' 
 
 'Brittany? Why?' 
 
 ' To see my future wife there.' 
 
 ' In Brittany ?' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 ' Where ? What is her name ? What . . .' 
 
 ' Do not get excited, please ; — you who 
 always preach to me to be calm, and who 
 so haughtily blame the outbursts of my 
 hasty disposition !' 
 
 ' My dear fellow, I am a Breton — you 
 have forgotten that ; and your going to
 
 12 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Brittany on such an important matter can- 
 not but interest me deeply. Where is it 
 you are going?' 
 
 ' To the Chateau de Kerguennec' 
 
 ' Impossible !' 
 
 ' Why ? I see nothing impossible in 
 that.' 
 
 ' It is so strange ; the Chateau is close 
 to my birthplace, and I know the Comte 
 and Comtesse de Kerguennec. But who 
 is it you are going to marry?' 
 
 ' Their niece.' 
 
 ^ Niece ? Which one ? What is her 
 name?' 
 
 ' Renee de Kerguennec' 
 
 ' Renee ! ah, I know her. How extra- 
 ordinary !' 
 
 ' You know her ? Oh, how glad I am ! 
 What kind of a girl is she ? Tall ? short ? 
 fair ? dark ? handsome ? pretty ? ugly ? 
 What? which?'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 13"' 
 
 'My dear chevalier, I am sorry that I 
 cannot tell you.' 
 
 ' Cannot tell me ! and yet you say you 
 know her?' 
 
 ' I knew her, I should have said, when 
 she was a child of ten or eleven ; but she 
 left for the Convent after her father's death, 
 when her uncle and aunt came to live at 
 Kerguennec ; and since she has lived there, 
 I have been in Paris.' 
 
 ' And you do not call me the most 
 unfortunate of men ? I thought you 
 would tell me all about her. But as 
 a girl of ten or eleven what Avas she 
 like?' 
 
 ' Like all little girls of that age, I 
 think.' 
 
 ' You think ! Ah ! it is easy to see that 
 my miserable fate does not touch your 
 heart. If you were in my position, how I 
 should grieve for you and try to comfort
 
 14 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 you ! Just imagine a man actually on bis 
 way to marry a girl he has never seen and 
 to whom one answers calmly that she was 
 ' Like all little girls of that age, I think !" 
 And you do not pity me ?' 
 
 ' Not much. I should be more inclined 
 to pity her ; a girl of eighteen is scarce- 
 ly like a child who does not know her 
 own mind ; and it is a matter of some im- 
 portance to her also, if she knows about 
 the intended marriage and is expecting 
 you.' 
 
 ' Well, yes, after all I suppose it is ; 
 but, upon my word of honour, I had not 
 thought of considering it in that light 
 before. You see, I do not know what she 
 is — good or bad, angel or shrew. I cannot 
 guess what her dreams for the future may 
 be, and whether I am called to fulfil them ; 
 while I know what I am and what my 
 wishes are. I know that I wish for
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 15 
 
 liberty, just as in the past. And, as to my 
 temper, am I not always amiable and 
 charming, easy to please and satisfy, &c.. 
 
 And the two young men laughed heartily. 
 
 Upon the whole, young De Valvourgs 
 was right — he was amiable and easy-tem- 
 pered enough — and, having once told his 
 friend of his misfortune, which did not 
 seem to lie very deep under the surface, 
 he felt much comforted. 
 
 He had all the quickness and vivacity 
 of the Provencal, and all his great power 
 of speech ; indeed, it was often as if 
 thoughts came to him through much 
 speaking. He was very imaginative, very 
 sensitive, and very fond of pleasure, which 
 was, in fact, the chief aim of his life. But 
 he was a man of honour, and this was the 
 link between the two young men, who 
 differed in almost everything else.
 
 16 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 De Carnoet was of a sober dispositioHy 
 — a Breton, calm, simple, upright, and 
 true. He was much sought after by 
 the better men, and even by his gay com- 
 panions, who knew they could trust him. 
 He was tall, had a fine face, with deep- 
 blue eyes, which had in them the dreami- 
 ness so generally found in the Breton who 
 has lived all his life near the Lancles^ with 
 their vast expanses of heath and broom. 
 Although he had been for some years in 
 Paris, the impressions of his early youth 
 clung to him as much as ever; and these 
 had been of a serious nature. 
 
 The result of the conversation between 
 the two young men was that they decided 
 to g<^ together to Brittany. De Carnoet 
 was glad to think of doing the honours of 
 his country to his friend, who on his part 
 said he felt much more courageous in his 
 company against the troubles that might
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 17 
 
 await liim in the courtship of his bride- 
 elect. 
 
 Mounted on good horses, and accom- 
 panied by servants well armed, they started 
 soon after on their journey — a long and 
 difficult one in those times — and some 
 days after they reached the borders of 
 Brittany. 
 
 From that moment all seemed changed 
 for them ; they forgot the atmosphere of 
 blood and murder, excitement and pain, 
 they had long lived in in Paris, and felt 
 their hearts expand, their thoughts puri- 
 fied, and the fear of the future disappear- 
 ing. Everywhere around them were pretty 
 views, quaint hamlets and villages lost in 
 the silence of the fields — everything spoke 
 of peace, and calm, and security. 
 
 The young Provengal fell at once 
 under the soothing influence. He felt 
 sure now that Renee de Kerguennec 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 18 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 must be sweet and gentle, and that he was 
 going to a life of peace and happi- 
 ness. How could a woman living among 
 such picturesque and simple surround- 
 ings be proud and ambitious, harsh or 
 unkind ? 
 
 They had travelled for some time, when 
 the landscape changed suddenly before 
 them. To abundance and fertility succeed- 
 ed a barren land, — almost a desert ; and life 
 itself seemed extinct. There was scarcely 
 anything to break the solemn sadness of 
 the sea of furze and broom and heath 
 which on all sides bounded the horizon, 
 except that at times eyes and mind, tired 
 by the monotony of the thirsty and sterile 
 land, were arrested by the gigantic dolmens 
 of granite, or by the huge menhirs crowned 
 indeed by the cross, but mysterious and 
 awful relics of a religion which exists no 
 lonofer.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 19 
 
 But the landscape changed once more ; 
 they passed deep and sunless villages ; 
 and dark and rugged hills shut out all 
 the view, till suddenly a bright white line 
 appeared far away at the horizon, telling 
 them of the sea, limitless and immense — 
 the sea that speaks of freedom from all 
 narrow bonds, that makes men bold and 
 hopeful ; the sea that enlarges the soul 
 with thoughts of eternity. 
 
 Suddenly De Carnoet touched his friend's 
 arm. They had reached a high table-land, 
 swathed in the green of the hills, and 
 dotted here and there with clumps of 
 vigorous and healthy fir-trees. Below 
 the sheer precipice at their feet, the sea 
 roared and dashed against the granite 
 rocks of the deep bay it had hollowed out 
 for itself during the course of centuries. 
 The rocks shook under the violence of its 
 blows, and huge columns of water and
 
 20 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 spray were launched with irresistible force 
 in the air. 
 
 The thought that this turmoil lasted 
 for ever, and that a tempest might increase 
 it a thousandfold, was almost too much 
 for the human mind to conceive and bear 
 with ; jet* on the extreme point of the 
 headland, at the entrance of the bay, 
 where the waters raged with the utmost 
 fierceness, and raised high on its precipitous 
 rocks, stood a large castle of bygone days, 
 with the proud outlines of its towers and 
 battlements stretching against a bright, 
 clear sky. It looked so bold, so invincible, 
 so proud, that the chevalier remained 
 entranced at the sight, and in a moment 
 imagination had recalled to him the poetry 
 of the past — those knights clad in armour, 
 and spear in hand, bent on redressing 
 wrong; or those armies of mounted war- 
 riors, with clanking steel, rushing to
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 21 
 
 the attack, and the castle, at the blast 
 of its fanfares, ready to receive its enemies 
 and destroy them; — or else preparinoj a 
 gorgeous pageant to welcome its friends 
 and give them a royal hospitality. 
 
 As the young Proven9al gazes at the 
 sight, a name reaches his ear above the 
 tumult of the waves — 
 
 ' Kerguennec' 
 
 And, turning round, his eyes question 
 his friend. 
 
 ' Yes, that is the Chateau de Kerguennec' 
 
 The young man feels the blood of youth 
 mantle his cheeks and forehead, and make 
 his heart beat violently — Kerguennec ! and 
 Renee — that Renee de Kerguennec he is 
 coming to see lives there ! Ah ! surely a 
 descendant of this noble and fearless race 
 should be worth the winning ! 
 
 When brought at last face to face with 
 what is now plainly seen to be but the
 
 22 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ruins of a past glory — the glamour still 
 upon him, he crosses the pont-levis head 
 erect, defiant of what fate may have in 
 reserve for him behind those mouldering 
 walls.
 
 23 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 The two young men, whose arrival had 
 been announced by a courier, found their 
 host ready to welcome them ; and, having 
 got rid of the dust of the high-road, but 
 still in their travelling dress, they went for 
 their first introduction to the ladies of the 
 Chateau, the Comtesse and Mademoiselle 
 de Kerguennec. 
 
 They were received in a large, handsome 
 hall with high oriel mullioned windows 
 emblazoned with many a crest and shield, 
 through which the sun fell in soft rays of 
 coloured li2;ht on the dark panelled walls 
 and highly-polished floor.
 
 24 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 The comtesse was half reclining on a 
 low chair ; she was about thirty -five years 
 old, fair, and of delicate features, and 
 looked very ill. Coming with graceful 
 carriage from the end of the room, Renee 
 de Kerguennec stood before them, a charm- 
 ing vision ; and the chevalier, who, after 
 profound salutations, had scarcely dared 
 to look at her, was struck with her extreme 
 beauty. 
 
 She was tall and erect, and with a 
 splendour of health that contrasted delight- 
 fully with the sickly looks of her aunt. 
 Her hair, raised high and loose on the top 
 of the head, was dark chestnut ; her eyes 
 were brown ; her complexion dazzling ; her 
 well-curved mouth and lips were most 
 pleasant ; and her wide, white brow spoke 
 of no common intellect. 
 
 Low and sweet was her voice as she 
 welcomed the stranger, and charming her
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 25 
 
 smile as she renewed acquaintance with 
 Rohan de Carnoet, her play-fellow of seven 
 or eight years before. 
 
 So she was not only young and rich, 
 but also beautiful, this bride De Valvourgs 
 had been sent to claim ! And suddenly 
 a feeling of wild enthusiasm swept over 
 the young man — to vanish almost as 
 suddenly before a rapid, impulsive survey 
 of his past life and of his own merits, 
 which left him disconsolate and dissatis- 
 fied with himself — a new and very 
 unwelcome feeling. 
 
 As his friend had told him, he had 
 thought only of himself in coming to 
 Brittany, and now he was ashamed of his 
 selfishness, for he realized how important 
 to the girl before him was the kind of 
 husband who had been deemed worthy of 
 her ! Would she ever think that he 
 was worthy? Would he ever win this
 
 26 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 handsome and intelligent girl who had 
 been chosen for him? Would she ever 
 put her hand in his and agree to their 
 being called husband and wife ? It was 
 preposterous, — impossible ! The more he 
 thought of it, the feebler his chance of win- 
 ning her seemed to be; and by the end of the 
 interview he told himself that he would fail. 
 And, once alone in their rooms, De 
 Valvourgs' usual flow of words burst 
 forth. How was it that his friend had 
 not seen the promise of such beauty 
 in the child of ten? Had De Carnoet 
 tried to keep the knowledge of it from 
 him on purpose, so that he might be 
 struck down from the first and fall help- 
 lessly in love? — And he had so fallen, 
 and his happiness was no longer in 
 his own keeping ! Ah ! that he had 
 never left Paris ! How could he help 
 seeing the difficulties and troubles before
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 27 
 
 him ! Such a woman to win ! She was be- 
 yond all the dreams and all the poetical 
 fancies of his youth. How could he ever 
 expect her to love him ! Ah ! that he had 
 never left Paris ! . . . . 
 
 His friend, accustomed to his way of 
 talking, only laughed. 
 
 ' How charming to think that after all 
 this will be a love-match,' he said. 
 
 ' A love-match ! De Carnoet ! What do 
 you mean ? What have you seen in her 
 that can make you say that ? A love- 
 match ! Do you intend to make me believe 
 that she — that you could see in her — 
 signs ? — Impossible ! Speak, I entreat you, 
 speak !' 
 
 ' She has not told me yet,' replied the other, 
 who was as full of satisfaction as his friend 
 of fear : ' but I noticed how her eyes fol- 
 lowed every one of your movements ; and 
 how they were even raised now and then
 
 28 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 to your face. And I noticed, too, how 
 oblivious of my humble self she was ! 
 Yes, I saw it all, marked it all, — not one 
 sign of her interest in you escaped me. 
 And I feel glad for your sake that she is 
 beautiful ; and I am proud of the happi- 
 ness you will have in showing your Breton 
 bride to the world.' 
 
 And yet the young man sighed. 
 
 ' Thanks, De Carnoot, thanks, it is kind 
 of you to feel so for me. But will she 
 ever be my wife ? Alas ! I doubt it ! Do 
 not laugh at me ; but I have never felt so 
 nervous before, so — unworthy of a woman. 
 Till now the society of women has always 
 been so pleasant ; I was always so wel- 
 come ; they made so much of me and it 
 was so easy for me to reciprocate their 
 attentions and praises — an exchange of 
 frivolities, in fact. But how will frivolity 
 answer here ? Badly, I fear ; and I do not
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 29 
 
 feel able to be serious, to be serious always. 
 —What shall I do?' 
 
 * Wait before you despair ; a few days 
 will tell us much of Avhat she is. But I 
 believe her to be as charming as she is 
 beautiful. She only spoke a few words of 
 recognition to me ; just to be civil, you 
 understand ; yet they fell on my ear like 
 a grateful sound. I believe I shall never 
 forget her saying, " We were play-fellows 
 once, were we not, Monsieur de Carnoet?" 
 You are a fortunate man, De Valvourgs ; 
 and you will have to thank heartily that 
 Dowager-Countess after all.' 
 
 ' I do not see it like you ; I dread to love 
 her ; and I dread her not loving me. I am 
 just now a perfect coward ready for flight. 
 Ah ! uncle, uncle, whatever put it into 
 your head to marry me !' 
 
 'Looking forward to the bantlings on 
 the right and on the left, eh ?'
 
 :30 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 'If she refuses me, De Carnoet, what 
 shall I do?' 
 
 ' She will not. You — flying from flower 
 to flower, choosing and forgetting the most 
 beautiful — who could refuse you? — But 
 now let us go and dress. I suppose you 
 will don one of your bewitching coats and 
 put me in the shade as you always do ?' 
 
 ' I never heard you complain of that 
 before ; nor did you appear to mind. But, 
 do you know, somehow I don't seem to 
 care for the brilliant suits I brought with 
 me ; I wish I had something of a more 
 serious character, something more sober, 
 something less showy, less ' 
 
 ' Change with me.' 
 
 ' Ah ! no, no ! — Love ! love ! have I met 
 with thee at last?' 
 
 ' But it is so sudden — so very sudden ! 
 Do you really believe in it ? — To tell you 
 the truth, I do not.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 3 1 
 
 ' Alas ! I do. De Carrioet, let us flee, 
 let us rush back to Paris.' 
 
 'Thanks. Not till after dinner. You 
 see, I am not in love like you. After 
 dinner, chevalier, let us put it off till after 
 dinner !' 
 
 And, laughinf^, the two friends retired 
 to the important cares of their toilets. 
 
 Visitors from Paris were welcome in the 
 country in those times of stirring events, 
 and the conversation at dinner naturally 
 flowed on the topics of the day. They 
 talked of the rebellion in Paris, as it was 
 still called by many ; they talked of the 
 fall of the Bastille with a laugh — that 
 old Bastille which had become of so little 
 use of late, and which certainly was not 
 in the habit of sheltering the poor behind 
 its walls! What could have made the 
 populace wreak its vengeance upon it ? 
 Bread would be none the less dear for that
 
 32 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 exploit! They talked of the National 
 Guard, Avith Lafayette at its head ; of his 
 fatuity when, taking up the blue and red 
 cockade of the citizen soldiers and placing 
 the white one of royalty in the midst, he 
 had declared that the red, white, and blue 
 cockade would conquer the world ! 
 
 The comte, a staunch Breton, was no 
 admirer of the Court at Paris ; and its 
 troubles, he thought, were deserved ; but it 
 was hard that the noblesse who had lived in 
 the country all their life, and looked after 
 the welfare of their people, should have to 
 pay for the mistakes of others. His feudal 
 privileges he had given up long ago ; still 
 he did not like to see it j^assed into a law 
 that they should be abolished for ever. 
 
 The comtesse, in a gentle voice, said to 
 her neighbour, 
 
 ' And so you have left Paris too, Mon- 
 sieur de Valvourgs. I hear that many
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 33 
 
 have done so already. Will not Their 
 Majesties feel very much the void thus 
 made around them?' 
 
 ' Ah ! but I should not have left it of 
 my own accord,' exclaimed the young man, 
 carried away by his loyalty. ' My devotion 
 to the Queen is such that I would be there 
 near her now, and at all times of danger, if 
 1 had my choice.' 
 
 When he had thus spoken, he found the 
 eyes of Mademoiselle de Kerguennec fixed 
 on him with a strange expression in them. 
 
 ' The feeling honours you,' the comtesse 
 went on. ' I suppose this rebellion will 
 not last long?' 
 
 The chevalier did not feel at his ease, 
 and replied, tamely enough, 
 
 'We all think so. The populace was 
 angry; but, having done such grand things, 
 it will rest now, no doubt. My uncle's 
 opinion is that all the noblesse should come 
 
 VOL. 1. D
 
 34 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 forward and surround the throne, and give 
 the king the help and countenance he needs. 
 But it would be called civil war, I suppose.' 
 ' It would lead to it,' said the comte, 
 * but it would not last lonsr, thouo;h thev 
 say we are so few nobles left : — one 
 hundred and ten thousand out of twenty- 
 six million men. It does not seem much, 
 does it? Richelieu would be glad, if he 
 knew.' 
 
 ' One hundred and ten thousand noble- 
 men would soon crush all the citoyen 
 battalions.' 
 
 ' Yes ; and Lafayette will tell you that 
 it is to keep order and watch over the 
 king he has raised the National Guard. 
 They would fight with us.' 
 
 ' Surely we scarcely need their aid.' 
 
 ' But there will be no fighting. I expect 
 the next news will tell us that all is at 
 peace.'
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 35 
 
 ' It is so strange,' said the comtesse, ' to 
 liear of those rumours of war in our quiet 
 part of the world ; we seem fast asleep in 
 the past. And, let them say what they 
 please in Paris against the noblesse^ we are 
 safe in our feudal homes ; our Bretons are 
 such a quiet people.' 
 
 ' Quiet, yes ; but they can fight, trust 
 them for that,' replied the comte, laugh- 
 ing. ' Fortunately, they have no occasion 
 for fighting.' 
 
 'No, they will not fight and rebel, 
 like those peasants who have burnt down 
 chateaux and convents elsewhere,' said 
 Monsieur Brevelaye, the cure, who had 
 spoken very little till then. 'For whom 
 or against whom, should they fight ? Has 
 not Monsieur le Comte truly said, that the 
 nobleman of Brittany lives among his peo- 
 ple, and sees after their wants and relieves 
 their more grievous burdens ? We are like 
 
 D 2
 
 36 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 SO iiiany patriarchal families. It is only 
 tlic master who has deserted and oppressed 
 his people who has reason to fear.' 
 
 Upon the whole, the speech of the cure, 
 though intended to allay the fears of those 
 around him, struck a more warlike note 
 than all that had been said before, and 
 the comte looked at him across the table, 
 his eyebrows slightly draw^n together. 
 
 'There will be no iio:htino: amono' us.' 
 he repeated ; ' and, if there was, Monsieur 
 le Cure would be the first to stop it.' 
 
 ' He would never bless lighting for an 
 unjust cause,' replied the cure, simply. 
 
 ' He would never allow it at all,' per- 
 sisted the comte. 
 
 The cure did not reply, and they all 
 rose. 
 
 The evening was splendid, the sea calm 
 and lovely, and the noise of its weaves at 
 so great a height came like a soothing
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. o7 
 
 music that mixed itself witli the soft 
 words and the perfume of flowers. 
 
 The comte proposed a walk through 
 some parts of the ruins, and the comtesse, 
 excusing herself because of her weakness, 
 was left behind with the cure. 
 
 The part of the Chateau now inhabited 
 had been rebuilt and kept up at different 
 times, and offered nothing extraordinary ; 
 but there were left still, from past ages, 
 nooks and corners and unexpected sur- 
 prises, which the young men enjoyed 
 seeing in the company of Mademoiselle de 
 Kerguennec. 
 
 She had talked very little during the 
 dinner, but now she joined her uncle in 
 showing the old ruins to the best ad- 
 vantage; and to their surprise they found 
 her full of that quiet fun which is so 
 delightful in a well-bred woman ; and the 
 Chevalier de Valvourgs told himself that
 
 38 A BliETON MAIDEN. 
 
 lie had never been so happy in his- 
 life. 
 
 ' Now I will take you,' said the comte. ' to 
 our grand show, the abode of our best ghost 
 or thereabouts ; for we have a few ghosts, 
 great and small, graduated according to 
 the vastness of their crimes in the days of 
 their flesh, or to the imagination of their 
 inventors. What should we be without our 
 ghosts and legends in Brittany ? What 
 do you say, Rohan ?' 
 
 ' We should be nothing. I could not 
 understand our country Avithout them.' 
 
 Having crossed several rooms in a fair 
 state of preservation, they came to one in a 
 round tower, and suddenly the sea seemed 
 to borrow a mighty voice and its waters 
 to struggle and tear and iight like souls 
 tormented down below. Through the 
 narrow, cross-shaped loopholes the vast 
 ocean was seen in the distance rollinir
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 39 
 
 solemnly and majestically under a canopy 
 of clouds, regardless of the turmoil at the 
 foot of the precipice. 
 
 'This turret,' said the comte, 'which 
 must have been used as an extra prison, 
 is known as the " Threshold of Death ;" 
 cheerful, is it not ?' 
 
 ' Fairly so.' 
 
 ' The waters have hollowed out for 
 themselves a deep cavern, where the 
 fearful battle is for ever renewed ; but it 
 is the hand of man that has partly blocked 
 its opening ; so that the victim falling into 
 the whirlpool down below, should never 
 be carried away and reveal the secret of 
 his death. No vessel can approach it 
 without being shipwrecked, and no human 
 foot can climb down the precipices that 
 surround it ; nevertheless, according to 
 the legend, a man attempted it, accom- 
 plished it, and died of grief on the rocks
 
 40 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 below, before the sight that was revealed 
 to him.' 
 
 ^ Why? how was that;?' 
 
 ' Reriee will tell you, she delights in all 
 these things ; and it really takes too much 
 out of one of my age to relate them. Now, 
 Renee, we are listening.' 
 
 The young girl smiled, and said, 
 
 ' This is idleness, sir.' 
 
 Then, becoming serious, her two hands 
 folded before her, her eyes fixed afar as if 
 foriretful of her audience, she be2:an : 
 
 ' In the neighbourhood of Kerguennec 
 lived a baron, and his castle was as strong 
 as this one. The neighbours, bold and 
 brave and tierce warriors both, had un- 
 fortunately quarrelled and were deep- 
 rooted enemies. It happened, in the 
 course of time, that they also became 
 rivals in love. Both fell in love with a 
 maiden as beautiful as the day, and as
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 41 
 
 good as tlie angels in Heaven. But she had 
 been promised and betrothed to the power- 
 ful baron, the enemy of the Comte de 
 Kergnennec. 
 
 ' The baron had taken a vow of going to 
 Palestine, so he thought it best at once to 
 keep his vow in order not to be separated 
 from his bride after his marriage. Leav- 
 ing his betrothed in his chateau under his 
 mother's care, and a strong guard of faith- 
 ful men, he set out for the Holy Land. 
 He had gone some distance when a blast 
 upon the horn of one of his fleetest mes- 
 sengers made him turn round, and he 
 learned with grief and rage that the young 
 girl had been seized ; that she was at Ker- 
 guennec in this castle, and that his rival had 
 resolved upon immediately marrying her. 
 
 ' The young baron and his small band of 
 retainers utter cries of malediction and 
 vengeance; they turn their horses' heads
 
 42 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 towards home again ; they ride in hot 
 haste ; they rush forward ; the trumpet 
 sounds far and wide ; the baron's numerous 
 vassals are assembled ; and the valiant 
 army, animated by fierce hopes of revenge, 
 press on to the walls of Kerguennec. 
 
 * Nothing can check the furious attack ; 
 the warriors win the besieged place ; utter- 
 ing loud cries of victory, they search the 
 castle for their conquered foe. They reach 
 this spot, and the guilty man pays the 
 forfeit with his life. 
 
 ' But in the midst of the shouts of 
 triumph, heart-rending screams, the screams 
 of a woman, are heard coming from below ; 
 — the fierce comte has had time to dispose 
 of his victim. To see whence the cries 
 come is impossible, but the baron in his 
 mad grief dashes down the ramparts, 
 urges his friends to follow him, and leaps 
 from rock to rock, from abyss to abyss,
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 4^ 
 
 and surmounts every obstacle. At last 
 they see him pause, his eyes are fixed 
 with horror on the whirlpool where the 
 racking waters are lashed into fury by the 
 tempest ; then, uttering a piercing cry and 
 extending his arms as one fascinated, he 
 calls on her he loved, and falls dead before 
 the victim whose cries have long ceased to 
 be heard. 
 
 ' Never again did the young baron and 
 his beautiful fiancee tread the soil of their 
 native land ; never again did the halls of 
 their homes resound with their laughter ; 
 their promises of love Avere buried in the 
 waves ; but two unhappy spirits ever since 
 wander round this chamber of death, 
 uttering moans and lamentations ; and on 
 stormy nights their voices are plainly 
 heard crying, '' Woe, woe to Kerguennec ! 
 Woe, woe ! Let its fall be great — woe to 
 Kerguennec !" '
 
 44 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 And, raising her hand, 
 
 ' Hark !' she murmured low. 
 
 And the sea below seemed to sigh — 
 ^ Ker-guen-nec !' 
 
 The young men had never taken their 
 eyes off her face while she told the fate 
 of the victims of her lawless ancestor; and 
 the young chevalier's heart vibrated at 
 her words like the harp touched by a 
 master-hand. The comte it was who 
 broke the silence. 
 
 ' Nice, is it not ? A charming way of 
 o:ettin2: rid of troublesome friends or hated 
 enemies.' 
 
 ' But the entrance of the cave?' 
 
 ' Ah ! never ask for particulars when 
 you are told a legend.' 
 
 ' Then that Threshold ?' 
 
 ' The secret of the passage is lost. In 
 my youth I tried to discover it. I had 
 workmen here, but they were not to the
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 45 
 
 manner born, and the secret is a secret 
 still.' 
 
 'Then it really is all a myth, I suppose?' 
 
 ' Would you prefer it to be otherwise ? 
 However, there is no doubt about the 
 oubliette down below, for, wdien the sea is 
 calm and the light good, w^e can see from 
 the distance the cave beneath, with its 
 heavy rocks crosswise barring the entrance. 
 There misfht have been another kind of 
 entrance to it ; but a legend is a legend, 
 you know, and has its way of explaining 
 matters.' 
 
 As they w^ere returning to the house, 
 the chevalier said, in a subdued voice, to 
 Renee de Kerguennec, 
 
 ' Do not such stories haunt you in the 
 stormy nights, mademoiselle?' 
 
 ' They are so very, very old,' she replied, 
 with a smile. 
 
 'But a curse is abiding, and sorrow
 
 46 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 predicted must I would not that a 
 
 l)reath of sorrow came near you, made- 
 moiselle.' 
 
 She looked up quickly in his face. 
 
 ' You almost make me afraid.' she lauo-h- 
 ed ; * but I thank you for the feeling of 
 kindness implied. Only, be comforted, so 
 many generations of brave and good men 
 have passed away with their joys and their 
 sorrows since those days of legend ; and, 
 besides, the destiny of every human being 
 — the destiny of the last of the Kerguennecs 
 which I am — is it not in God's hand?'
 
 47 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Time passed quickly at the Chateau ; many 
 invitations had been made, and many 
 visitors, old and young, from all parts of 
 the neighbourhood came to hear the last 
 ne\YS from those who had just left the 
 king and queen. Great animation pre- 
 vailed; expeditions and friendly calls filled 
 the time, and the noise of horses and 
 carriages during the day, and the music and 
 dancing at night, made the old place ring 
 with the sounds of life again. 
 
 A grand race those Breton gentlemen 
 were, with their strongly-built frames, 
 round heads, and keen black or blue eyes.
 
 48 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Men of granite, borrowing their strength 
 from the pure atmosphere of their country 
 and the purity of their lives. They ques- 
 tioned the young men with that genuine 
 and exquisite kindness of heart which^ 
 with love of independence, forms the 
 principal trait in the Breton character. 
 Simple, discreet, earnest, self-contained, and 
 self-reliant they were ; and the stranger 
 was welcome at their hearths. 
 
 Some still wore the Breton dress : the 
 wide Gaelic plaited breeches, the round 
 coat with its extraordinary number of 
 buttons, and long embroidered vest, and 
 shoes with large buckles ; while their long 
 hair, cut close on the front of the head 
 in the style of the old Merovingian kings, 
 floated on their shoulders. 
 
 And a noble costume it was, even 
 though the peasants wore the same ; those 
 peasants with whom the seigneurs seemed
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 49 
 
 to live on a footing of equality and 
 friendship. 
 
 So these were the Bretons in their 
 homes, those Bretons so ill-judged and so 
 often laughed at in Paris ! And it could 
 but add to the pleasure of the young 
 stranger's visit to Brittany to find him- 
 self among men not only differently dressed 
 from the ordinary inhabitants of France, 
 and with different customs and manners, 
 but also with the traditions of a glorious 
 past fresh upon them. To be with the 
 descendants of a strong and warlike race, 
 which for more than six centuries had 
 held its own against powerful and hateful 
 neighbours — the Kings of France ; some- 
 times fighting them alone, sometimes with 
 the help of the English, and sometimes fight- 
 ing the English themselves and disputing 
 with them the supremacy of the Channel. 
 To recollect while among them how some 
 
 VOL. I. E.
 
 50 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 of those Englishmen had at different times 
 taken a foothold in Brittany, and lived 
 in the barbarous style that led to the 
 immortal Combat des Trente, and the 
 cause of that fight ; — how Beaumanoir 
 had said to Sir Bembrough at Ploermel, 
 ' Knight of England, it is a shame for you 
 to chain like oxen by two and three, and 
 flog and torment the peasants as you do, 
 the peasants who labour in the fields, and 
 throuo^h whose labour we sret corn and 
 wine 1 Truly, if they did not do the work 
 for us, we noblemen would even have to 
 do it ourselves, and endure their priva- 
 tions and hardships. Cease, therefore, I 
 pray you, to injure them.' To which Bem- 
 brough had replied : ' Know that the 
 English race is born to conquer and rule 
 everywhere ; therefore, Beaumanoir, hold 
 thy peace/ And then they had fought 
 that wonderful fight and the Breton won.
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 51 
 
 Or else, how the English had lived 
 among them as friends, and how Jean de 
 Montfort, who had crushed his rival with 
 their help, loved them so that he loaded 
 them with honours and gave them all the 
 high posts to fill in the duchy, till his 
 barons and noblemen grumbled and gave 
 him the choice either to send them away or 
 to go away himself; — Avhich last he chose 
 to do and retired to England. And how, 
 when the French king saw the Bretons 
 without their duke, he sent an army to 
 take possession of the duchy, and the 
 Bretons sent to him and he came back — 
 people falling on their knees before him 
 and weeping with joy at his return. And 
 how they then fought the King of France, 
 and the Bretons won again. 
 
 But he had yet to learn that since 
 the marriage of Anne de Bretagne with 
 Louis XII. of France, and the powerful 
 
 E 2
 
 52 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 enemy had had a voice in the parliament 
 of Brittany, vexations had never ceased, 
 king after king proving himself to be the 
 enemy of the Breton independence — a 
 question of life and death now to the 
 Breton who had never yielded, but had 
 rebelled, conspired, and fought to the last. 
 
 And how, throughout those centuries of 
 struggle for independence, the peasant had 
 gone hand in hand with his master, 
 fio^htino^ with him with the same indomit- 
 able courage, the same unconquerable will. 
 It was no Avonder the Breton peasant 
 remained attached to that master, no 
 wonder the seigneur loved the peasant. 
 
 But these seigneurs were the men who 
 had gradually become proud of the ad- 
 vanced civilization of France, and were 
 ready to associate with her and even up- 
 hold her ideas, little dreaming what these 
 would soon be. They now thought it a
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 53 
 
 shame that the French king and queen 
 should suffer such indignities at the hands 
 of their subjects, and they despised that 
 power of a day, as they believed it to be, 
 that Republic which, caring nothing for 
 what was glorious in the past, seemed to 
 have no work but to destroy. 
 
 Still they did not want war. They 
 meant to remain at peace in the midst of 
 the turmoil of events going on in Paris, 
 safe among their devoted peasants. And so 
 no doubt they would have remained but 
 for the priest in their midst — that lowly 
 peasant-priest, so devoid of ambition, who 
 was to be the cause that torrents of blood 
 should be shed in the unhappy country. 
 
 Monsieur Brevelaye, the recteur, or cui'S, 
 of Kerguennec, was a fair specimen of his 
 class. He was a tall man, with a slight 
 stoop acquired by hard study. He stood 
 out from the rest of the visitors at the
 
 54 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Chateau, clad in his lono; priestly garments, 
 humble and generally silent, but with the 
 same courtly manner as the noblemen he 
 was with. He Avas a peasant's son, who, 
 when a lad, had been a goat-herd or had 
 held the plough, till his pious mother and 
 father, but more especially his brother, 
 determined to make him a priest. To 
 their hard life of labour was to be added 
 another burden; — further privations, where 
 already there was so little to spare, had to 
 be devised. But once having thought of 
 that great honour — a priest in the family 
 — they never swerved from their purpose. 
 The young lad joined in the general wish 
 of his family and was sent to school and to 
 long continued sorrow. 
 
 The peasant in Brittany was attached 
 to his master, but the inhabitant of the 
 town, little by little, had forgotten the 
 Breton tongue and longings, and loved
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 55 
 
 the civilization which brought him an 
 easier life. The peasants and the town 
 people hated each other, as only earnest 
 people can hate, — the peasants calling the 
 former in their own tongue and with 
 the deepest contempt, * Galloued,' — ' False 
 Breton,' or 'Traitor to the Breton cause ;' 
 the other being in no way behind in call- 
 ing them savages. For the poor peasant 
 lad, with his peasant clothes, his peasant 
 manners, his Breton speech and ignorance 
 of French, to be seated among the younger 
 boys of the town, so different in every- 
 thing, and so much more advanced than he 
 was, there was many a moment of torture 
 and misery. But slowly and surely the 
 young scholar made his way, through 
 trials and sorrows, and in spite of that 
 more terrible pain still, home-sickness, to 
 which the Breton is so prone, till one day, 
 swallowed up in the seminaire^ he lost his
 
 56 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 dress and originality in exchange for the 
 dress, and thoughts, and hopes of the priest. 
 
 Then at last has the reward come, 
 he is a priest. He returns to his village, 
 his heart bursting with lono;ino: towards 
 his own. He reaches his lowly and beloved 
 cottage ; he hears his parents speak ; but 
 his father remains wdth uncovered head 
 before him ; his mother kneels down for 
 his blessing ; his brother, who has done so 
 much for him, stands while he eats, waiting 
 till he has done before he himself begins. 
 
 Outside, among the young girls his 
 playmates once, some have become mo- 
 thers ; others are still free, but he is a man 
 of God, and all heads bow before him. No 
 heart is there among them that will ever 
 beat for him, never will he call a wife 
 his own. The sacerdoce of the humble 
 priest is renunciation, and renunciation is 
 not joy, but a martyrdom freely chosen.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 57 
 
 Circumstances call him in time to be 
 the recteur of his own parish, and he enters 
 the homes of the companions of his child- 
 hood as the best friend God has sent them 
 upon earth. He crosses the threshold of 
 that chateau he had looked up to with 
 veneration and awe — a visitor, a friend, 
 and a counsellor. He sits at the table 
 of his seigneur, side by side with his 
 most honoured guests. He is without 
 pride or false shame ; he is humble because 
 of the unworthiness of the instrument God 
 has chosen to carry out His designs upon 
 earth ; but he also knows the sacredness of 
 his office, and that it is this these people 
 honour in him. 
 
 And in 1790 he receives an order from 
 Paris to swear that he will serve and obey 
 the ' Constitution.' But he knows no- 
 thing about it, except that the king is 
 being insulted when he should command,
 
 58 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 and he refuses. He is told that, having 
 refused to swear obedience to the new 
 powers, he will have to give np his parish 
 and his work to a stranger. But like a true 
 Breton he waits, goes on unshaken with 
 his harassed ministry, and means never to 
 yield. 
 
 Perhaps the only one among the comte's 
 guests, he had long foreseen that the pea- 
 sants would rebel against the decree that 
 deprived him of his office, if it ever was 
 enforced. He sees it in the stern looks of 
 the men of his flock, and in their deeper 
 reverence ; in the strong man who ap- 
 proaches him nearer as if to take him 
 under his protection ; in the woman who 
 looks up to him as to one on the eve per- 
 haps of becoming a martyr. 
 
 He sees it also in his brother Loik, 
 whose love is deep tenderness combined 
 with deep reverence ; who kneels down in
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 5^ 
 
 the dust to receive his blessing, and 
 who will protect the priest who has 
 lost all power of fighting upon earth in 
 order to win souls for heaven. In the 
 looks of that brother does he also read 
 resistance. 
 
 A simple creed those men had. There is 
 a God in heaven, and the priest is God's 
 minister on earth ; therefore the priest must 
 be honoured as one would honour God. But 
 the peasants were not the only ones with 
 this simple faith ; it went through all 
 ranks, and the honour paid by the noble- 
 man to his priest was also graced 
 with the same intense conviction and 
 earnestness. 
 
 Among these men one stood out from 
 the rest, Monsieur Rohan de Carnoet, 
 the father of the chevalier's friend, 
 who, with his Breton dress, his long 
 hair flowing on his shoulders, and his
 
 ^0 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 fine face, was a remarkable man, and one 
 of strong individuality. He seemed to 
 command the respect of all, and the 
 joung chevalier wondered the more, be- 
 cause, having been taken to his Manoir by 
 his son, he had found him to be a man of 
 quiet, retired habits, and comparatively 
 poor. 
 
 The Manoir, though a large and hospit- 
 able mansion, was devoid of most of the 
 treasures of the past, so prized by a proud 
 race of men — some rare pictures, now and 
 then some jewelled sword of the Crusade 
 days — but otherwise it was almost bare of 
 things of value. 
 
 The sight of his friend's home made the 
 chevalier understand how it was that 
 Rohan de Carnoet had ahvays resolutely 
 refused to join in the more extravagant 
 pleasures of the Court. Still it was not 
 the lack of wealth, but more the stern
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 61 
 
 moral atmosphere that seemed to seize 
 upon one. But even this failed to explain 
 the respect paid to Monsieur de Carnoet 
 by everyone. 
 
 He longed to ask who Monsieur de 
 Carnoet was ; but meanwhile, noticing how 
 his friend, who had known Mademoiselle 
 de Kerguennec from her youth, stood 
 aloof when all men pressed round her, he 
 asked himself if it were not because of his 
 poverty that he did so. He would, how- 
 ever, have done him more justice if he 
 had seen in his retirement a question of 
 honour. Rohan de Carnoet, knowing the 
 understanding between the two families, 
 and havino: been from the first the cheva- 
 lier's confidant, felt it his duty to do 
 nothing that would interfere with his 
 friend's courtship ; and even carried the 
 feeling to an extreme. No, his poverty 
 was no disgrace, and would scarcely have
 
 62 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 prevented his being accepted by Renee de 
 Kerguennec as a suitor ; and this the 
 chevalier would soon hear. 
 
 But there was another man who had not 
 the scruples of Rohan, and who strongly 
 resented the chevalier's presence at the 
 Chateau. 
 
 Ydeuc de Trogleff was about thirty 
 years of age. He had travelled much, 
 knew the world, and had become an ac- 
 complished courtier. But he had all the 
 defects of his people's good qualities ; was 
 proud, irascible, obstinate, easily offended, 
 and unforgiving. 
 
 From the first he had shown coldness 
 to the chevalier, and the latter, quick to 
 feel this, had returned his coldness with 
 dislike. It was evident to everyone that 
 De Trogleff was anxious to please Made- 
 moiselle de Kerguennec, and it had not 
 escaped him who had come to win her
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 63 
 
 for his bride. It was even said that Ydeuc 
 de TroglefF had asked her in marriage and 
 had been refused. No wonder, therefore, 
 if the presence of the young chevalier at 
 the Chateau — the purpose of which he 
 could guess — was most disturbing to him. 
 
 But Mademoiselle de Kerguennec saw 
 nothing of the growing enmity between 
 the two men. Proud of her people and 
 of the past ; brave and fearless like them, 
 but ever gentle and amiable, she fulfilled, 
 with the greatest tact and courtesy, the 
 duties of hostess, in order to relieve her 
 aunt, who was unable to do anything. 
 
 Admired by all, she flitted from one to 
 another, bringing freshness and pleasant- 
 ness in her path. The chevalier — a stranger 
 to her country, but the occasion of the 
 present gathering of friends — had her first 
 care. From her perfect simplicity and 
 open behaviour towards all, it was evident
 
 64 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 that no thought of pleasing him more 
 than another had entered her mind ; and 
 that no thought of marriage had as yet 
 disturbed her. If it was true that 
 Ydeuc de TroglefF had failed once, there 
 was no siern that he could be more suc- 
 
 o 
 
 cessful were he to try again. 
 
 Although Rohan de Carnoet had im- 
 pressed on his friend the importance of 
 keeping watch over his quick southern 
 temper, it was difficult to secure peace 
 with one who was determined to have 
 war, and a small incident took place which 
 might have had serious consequences, and 
 which Rohan never forgot. 
 
 The whole party were one day on 
 horseback, when they came to a narrow 
 causeway, where only one could ride at 
 a time. Ydeuc de Trogleff, who knew of 
 this, and who was incensed at seeing the 
 chevalier close to Mademoiselle de Ker-
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. 65 
 
 guennec all the time, managed his horse 
 on approaching it so as to force the 
 chevalier back, and himself pass the first 
 after her. Had another done it, it might 
 have been an accident caused by the rest- 
 lessness of the horse ; but, coming from De 
 Trogleff, the chevalier knew at once it had 
 been done intentionally, and the hot blood 
 of youth and anger rushed to his face. 
 Yet he tried to quell the fury within him, 
 and wait till away from Mademoiselle de 
 Kerguennec to speak to him. 
 
 ' I shall never forget,' he said, ' that the 
 only insult I have received in your hospit- 
 able land came from you.' 
 
 To which the other replied, haughtily, 
 
 ' It is immaterial to me whether you 
 do or not.' 
 
 In a moment he saw the chevalier raise 
 his whip ; but with a laugh, as if to set 
 him at defiance, he spurred his horse close 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 to him. Fortunately, the whole proceed- 
 ings and the provocation offered to the 
 chevalier had been witnessed by others ; 
 and several of the gentlemen rushed 
 forward, entreating De Trogleff to desist 
 from conduct which could only bring 
 shame upon them all ; and at last the two 
 men were parted, the chevalier promising 
 to forgive for his host's sake, but Ydeuc 
 de Trogleff swearing he would always 
 remember how they had all taken part 
 against him. 
 
 To live at peace after such a scene was 
 difficult, and the chevalier was thankful 
 when he saw the number of guests dimin- 
 ish and Rohan and himself were left alone 
 with the inhabitants of the Chateau.
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 There are some women who have the 
 power of bringing out the best points 
 in their fellow-creatures. They believe 
 in the goodness of human nature, and see in 
 others those good qualities which they most 
 esteem and think they themselves lack : 
 unconscious that it is their very faith 
 which is producing the eifect, though it 
 may be but for a season. His spirit must 
 be poor indeed who knows that one 
 he loves or esteems believes him to be 
 great and good, and who yet does not 
 strive to reach the ideal he is thought to 
 fulfil. 
 
 f2
 
 68 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Thus the Chevalier de Valvourgs felt him- 
 self ennobled by his contact with Made- 
 moiselle de Kerguennec. He who had never 
 thought of anything but pleasure, and who 
 had followed the bent of his natural disposi- 
 tion for good or for evil, felt within himself 
 the highest aspirations, and would fain have 
 done great things so that he might prove to 
 her — and to himself — that he was not devoid 
 of those feelings which she took for granted 
 existed in him. He felt himself to be an 
 altered man, little dreaming how transient 
 the change might prove if he was called 
 back once more to his former atmosphere 
 of frivolity. 
 
 After two weeks at the Chateau the 
 chevalier felt that he was expected to 
 declare himself. He had promised his 
 uncle to marry^; and if he had not loved 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec he still would 
 have tried to keep his promise, though he
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 69 
 
 might have done so while calculating the 
 chances of separating himself virtually 
 from his wife. But he loved the bride 
 he had come to win, and with the new 
 feelings in him, a spirit of diffidence, 
 unknown before, swept over him, and 
 made him nervous before the possibility of 
 a refusal. 
 
 'What a day before me!' he said to his 
 friend, on the morning he was preparing 
 himself for his interview with the comte. 
 ' Is it not astonishing that I, the gay 
 and brilliant butterfly, as I used to be 
 called, should have so burnt my wings at 
 the fire of love — and so quickly, too ! Ah ! 
 De Carnoet, De Carnoet, I would not wish 
 my worst enemy to be in the state of mind 
 I am in. I want to marry and I want 
 to be free ; I dread the bondage and wor- 
 ship the chain ; I am seized with an all- 
 overpowering desire to run away, or with
 
 70 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 an all-mastering longing to worship here 
 all the days of my life. And yet the 
 dread of her refusing me haunts me 
 most, for she is of an independent 
 disposition, and the comte will not thwart 
 the inclinations of his niece. I could 
 die, I could die if it came to this. But 
 you do not pity me, you never did pity 
 me ; from the first you pooh-poohed the 
 intensity of my love ; and even to-day, when 
 my fate is to be decided, you do not feel 
 for me! You, a friend too — it is hard.' — 
 And the chevalier shook the lace carefully 
 round his neck. ' That rascal Thurio will 
 never learn how much depends on the 
 appropriate fold of a tie. — You believe in 
 my love, do you not ?' 
 
 ' Yes, oh yes. It is early yet ; only a 
 fortnight, you know.' 
 
 ' A fortnight ! but what a fortnight 
 when each day is filled with the most
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 71 
 
 bewildering and conflicting desires, and 
 has the length of a century. I never 
 knew before how much one's happiness 
 can depend on another, and how un- 
 controllable is the wish to be noble 
 and virtuous near a noble and virtuous 
 woman! De Carnoet, it frightens me 
 at times! Shall I ever be able to 
 satisfy her? Will not her disappointment 
 in me be terrible? But I must make her 
 love me, otherwise I shall be unhappy and 
 wa^etched for ever.' 
 
 De Carnoet looked at his friend's face 
 doubtfully, a smile on his lips. 
 
 " Would you be wretched— for ever ?' 
 'Should I? I tell you, you have no 
 fellow-feeling for me! You never had; 
 you are so cold yourself that you will 
 not even understand another who is not. 
 There is little fear of your ever fall- 
 ing in love as I have done ; you will be
 
 72 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 considering the pros and cons, calculating 
 this chance or that — happy, prudent fellow 
 that you are ! Now I think of it, I have 
 never yet seen you overcome by any 
 woman's charms ; my idea is that you can- 
 not be. Oh, how I envy your indiffer- 
 ence ! What would I not give now to 
 change places with you !' 
 
 ' Change.' 
 
 ^ No, no, I do not mean it, and in my 
 agitation I hardly know what I say. But 
 there goes the breakfast-bell — Ah ! De 
 Carnoet, Avhat a day, what a day for me ! 
 Wish me good luck, at least.' 
 
 ' But what would you consider good 
 luck ; to be refused or to be accepted ?' 
 
 ' Accepted, by Heaven ! Refused, I 
 should die.' 
 
 ' Or run back to Paris ?' 
 
 'Never, never !' And the chevalier hast- 
 ened to the dining-room.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 73 
 
 With the kind but incredulous smile on 
 his lips, Rohan de Carnoet followed his 
 friend leisurely. He was amused at the 
 chevalier's moods ; and it was very much 
 to him like watching the whims and 
 fancies of an amiable child, though he did 
 not tell himself so and was unconscious 
 of it. He had a sort of fondness for his 
 brilliant friend so unlike himself in almost 
 everything, and he felt glad also of his admi- 
 ration for Mademoiselle de Kerguennec — 
 glad to see him love her as he thought the 
 whole world should love her ; glad she was 
 his first thought and care even as she was 
 his own first thought too — her image never 
 leaving him for one moment night or day. 
 
 Yes, it was all as it should be ; no 
 woman had he ever met in the world he 
 could compare with her ; none so beautiful, 
 none so graceful, none so good. De Trogleff 
 loved her ; and his friend loved her. And
 
 74 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 anyone coming near lier must love lier. 
 It would be a charming match ; in his 
 mind's eye he could picture her and his 
 friend walking side by side, and both look- 
 ing happy and well ; he could fancy his 
 friend chatting away and she listening to 
 his lively talk as he himself could listen, and 
 laughing even as he laughed ; and it was 
 pleasant to him to fancy her amused and 
 happy. No thought of self was there. It 
 was not true that he was too cold ever to 
 love; but it certainly was true that he had not 
 yet learned to read his own heart aright ; 
 he might have loved at first sight even as his 
 friend had loved, but it was not in his 
 nature to become at once aware of it ; the 
 seed had not only to be sown in his heart, 
 but had to grow before he would believe 
 it had been sown. 
 
 On that morning they found Renee 
 as fresh, as cordial, and as simple as
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 75 
 
 ever. During those days of delightful 
 intercourse swift was the flight of time, 
 and of sorrow there was none. The 
 comte carefully kept from them the 
 ncAvs he received from Paris of the blood- 
 shed and massacres ; but, even had they 
 known, their soft laughter might have 
 overcome their dread or sympathy. The 
 three young people were happy, very 
 happy, and it would have been difficult 
 for them to weep long over the distant 
 troubles of unknown people. 
 
 The breakfast came to an end, and then 
 the chevalier asked the comte discreetly 
 if he could speak to him. Renee guessed 
 why, and, with open eyes, followed the 
 retreating forms of those two — and of 
 Rohan, driven away from her presence 
 at that moment by some instinct he did 
 not quite make out. 
 
 Renee de Kerguennec liked the young
 
 76 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Chevalier de Valvourgs. He was hand- 
 some and bright, and she felt sure he was 
 kind-hearted and good, and everything one 
 could desire. She had no objection to 
 marrying him, — for what could she desire 
 better? Her uncle and aunt were satis- 
 ■fied, and why should she not be ? 
 
 She never asked herself if she loved 
 him. Love was not an analytic study in 
 those days, and a girl in her position was 
 not likely to have heard much about it. 
 No books were there either to tell her of 
 the experiences of others ; and, if love 
 came to her, she would have to hug the 
 new feeling to her heart ignorant of what 
 other maidens have found it to be before 
 her. 
 
 Had she thought of it, — had she known 
 anything about it, she would have known 
 that she was not in love. It was pleasant 
 to be near such a bright and amusing
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 77 
 
 companion; and he evidently liked her. 
 There could be no reason, therefore, against 
 their being happy together, if they mar- 
 ried. She saw none, and looked for none. 
 Of course they would be happy. And 
 perhaps she was right. 
 
 A simple and inexperienced and liigh- 
 principled girl, provided she meets with 
 a man truly in love with her, is tolerably 
 sure to find love in marriage, and abide 
 by that first and only love to the end 
 of her life. Passion is one thing, love 
 with honour is another; and this last is the 
 only one a good woman craves after. Yes, 
 most likely Mademoiselle de Kerguennec 
 would be happy, if she married the Cheva- 
 lier de Valvourgs — but she was not in 
 love with him. 
 
 During his interview with her uncle, 
 something besides her own welfare 
 occupied her. There was something
 
 78 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 in lier father's will that she knew must 
 prove trying to the man asking her in 
 marriage ; and she felt very tenderly to- 
 wards the chevalier, to whom she could 
 fancy her uncle explaining it. 
 
 The comte received the young man's 
 overtures kindly. He told him of the 
 pleasure it had been to them to make his 
 acquaintance, and that he felt his niece 
 would be made happy by him. If every- 
 thing, as was usual, had not been quite 
 settled beforehand between the tAvo families, 
 it Avas because Renee was an orphan and 
 practically independent ; it was, moreover, 
 because of a clause in her father's will, and 
 this he would now explain to him. 
 
 ' My brother, you see, had some extra- 
 ordinary notions about the marriage of his 
 only child, and, as they came from his deep 
 affection for her, we can scarcely blame 
 him. At the same time, it is but fair to
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 79 
 
 ourselves to remark that tlie semblance of 
 insincerity the clause forces upon us is a 
 trial we should have been thankful to be 
 spared. On his death-bed my brother 
 made me promise him not to name the 
 conditions of his daughters fortune until 
 after she had been asked in marriage, and 
 these conditions are trying enough to re- 
 quire consideration on your part.' 
 
 ■• My niece can marry when she chooses, 
 but she can have no power over her for- 
 tune before she is twenty-one. She has a 
 small income till then, but an income alto- 
 gether inadequate to the requirements of 
 a married life such as she is bound to by 
 her rank. 
 
 ' Supposing she accepts you, you will 
 either have to marry her, and wait three 
 years for the very fair fortune she brings, 
 or wait three years before marrying her ; 
 unless you are in a position to waive the
 
 80 A BEETON ]\rAIDEN. 
 
 question of money altogether till then, 
 because you have enough of your own. 
 The affairs are so settled that no borrow- 
 ing can be made. 
 
 ' Had it been in my power to make those 
 conditions known to your uncle Avhen you 
 were first mentioned to us, I would have 
 done so ; but my promise to my brother 
 was binding. He saw, no doubt, safety in 
 those conditions for his daughter against a 
 hasty marriage, and thought that twenty- 
 one was early enough for a girl to marry. 
 But my niece feels this arrangement — par- 
 ticularly the concealment exacted from us 
 — very much. Till now she had refused 
 to listen to any proposition of marriage, 
 and would have done so for you had it 
 not been that her grandmother assured us 
 that your uncle would meet any emer- 
 gency arising from this difficulty. 
 
 ' However, now you know how things
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 81 
 
 stand, it is for you to consider wlietlier you 
 still are willing to marry my niece or not. 
 At all events, your uncle shouM be com- 
 municated with at once by you, I think. 
 Some of my friends will be glad to receive 
 you while you w^ait for his answer, and 
 make up your mind.' 
 
 The chevalier looked at him anxiously. 
 
 ' Do you mean to imply that I must 
 leave your roof at once — that I must not 
 tell Mademoiselle de Kerguennec of my 
 feelings tow^ards her? This is terrible !' 
 
 ' You love her, then ?' 
 
 ' I do love her deeply and sincerely, and 
 the happiness of my whole life is depend- 
 ent on her answer. My uncle, I know, 
 will overcome all difficulties.' 
 
 ' Yes ; but ' — the comte hesitated — ' we 
 ought to be sure before. You see, this is 
 one of the difficulties of obeying the com- 
 mands of men who are no more. My bro- 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 82 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ther, in his anxiety about his daughter's 
 happiness, does not seem to have contem- 
 plated a case of true love with narrow 
 means ; his heiress being rich, he feared 
 the fortune-hunter.' 
 
 ' Yes, yes, I see ; but I — I do not care 
 for money — that is, I have, in fact, been 
 much too dependent on my very generous 
 uncle ever to have considered — in short, I 
 have never thought about money matters ; 
 I have always had more than enough. 
 My love for Mademoiselle de Kerguennec 
 is sincere, true ' 
 
 ' Yes, but supposing your uncle ob- 
 jected ?' 
 
 ' But he will not.' 
 
 'So my niece's grandmother assured us.' 
 
 * I am his heir, his only heir ; and he is 
 very rich.' 
 
 ' I know.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 83 
 
 ' Will you not allow me to speak to 
 mademoiselle ?' 
 
 The comte thought awhile. Like his 
 brother, he wanted Renee to be loved and 
 to make a happy marriage, and wished that 
 every precaution for ensuring it should be 
 taken. But he saw that the chevalier loved 
 her, and that he seemed everything one 
 could desire. Surely if Renee's father had 
 still lived he would have removed the diffi- 
 culty at once. On the whole, the comte 
 thought he might trust the chevalier ; more- 
 over he was aware that Renee was able to 
 guide herself in the matter. 
 
 'Will you allow me to speak to her?' 
 the chevalier repeated. 
 
 ' I think perhaps I am justified in allow- 
 ing you to do so. Speak to her, she knows 
 all about this clause in the will and why it 
 was thou2:ht of It will be easier for both 
 
 g2
 
 84 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 of you to come to an understanding now 
 that there is nothing to hide.' 
 
 To do the young man justice, he had 
 said truly he did not care for money ; 
 that is, he did not know the value of 
 money. It never had happened to him to 
 put his hand into his pocket and find it 
 empty, or to see his debts remain unpaid. 
 On his way to his bride-elect, however, 
 his conversation with his uncle, and the 
 way he had calculated the income he 
 would give him, rather troubled him. 
 What if he refused to help him in this 
 unexpected emergency ? The very thought 
 brought a flush to his face and increased 
 his longing to make Mademoiselle de 
 Kerguennec love him. Part from her, 
 he said to himself, he could not do. 
 
 Renee was standing in the recess of a 
 deep window, and gazing far into the 
 distance. The weather had been stormy
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 85 
 
 during the night, and now everything 
 lay in soft and undefined outlines under 
 the cloudy sky. A mantle of deep purple 
 clothed the hills far away, while now 
 and then a white, soft light from above 
 broke through the thickness of the clouds, 
 sometimes resting on the top of the trees, 
 sometimes on the church steeple that seemed 
 to shoot out of a bower of verdure ; while 
 all the cottages scattered round it lay hid 
 to the view. 
 
 Nothing was there to trouble the still- 
 ness of the peaceful landscape, and Made- 
 moiselle de Kerguennec's face as she stood 
 thinking reflected the calm of nature. 
 What would the chevalier decide ? Would 
 he stay ? or would he leave without seeing 
 her ? Would the will oifend him, or would 
 he try to conquer the obstacles thus put 
 in his way? And what would then be 
 her feelings towards him? Could she
 
 86 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 regret him if he gave her up without 
 a struggle ? 
 
 Then she heard his step, and knew he 
 was coming towards her ; and when she 
 saw him standing before her, her smile 
 was even like that break in the clouds, 
 the harbinger of joy. In a moment, 
 seeing her thus, a flood of passionate love 
 passed over him, and he spoke for the first 
 time to her out of the fulness of his 
 heart. 
 
 ' Mademoiselle,' he said, at once coming 
 near her, ' I have to ask all your indulg- 
 ence, and all your patience and generosity, 
 for I want of you a boon more precious 
 by far to me than my very life. Do not 
 speak hastily, and pray listen to me to the 
 end, for your verdict will fix my destiny. 
 From the moment I saw you — from the 
 very first moment when I saw you near 
 and heard your voice, I knew that life
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 87 
 
 without you would be impossible for 
 me. Tell me, can you think of me as 
 a friend — your best, your dearest friend ; 
 one who will watch over your destiny with 
 a jealous care, and whose every thought 
 will be for your happiness? Can you join 
 your destiny to mine?' 
 
 He was standing near her ; he felt almost 
 suffocated by his love, and his words came 
 only by snatches ; but although her heart 
 beat quicker, and a flush of pleasure rushed 
 to her face, she answered him with an 
 untroubled calm. 
 
 ' I thank you for the kindness of your 
 feelings towards me, chevalier — but are not 
 there some difficulties- ?' 
 
 ' Oh, we will conquer them,' he broke 
 in, quickly. ' Fear not ; were my uncle 
 to see you, he would sacrifice everything 
 rather than take from me the happiness of 
 my life.'
 
 88 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Are you sure your happiness depends 
 on me?' 
 
 ' Sure ! I could not exist without you ; 
 as well deprive a man of his eyes when 
 he has just beheld the most enchanting 
 scene, or shut him in prison when all he 
 loves is without. No, I could not exist 
 without you ! You are the guiding star 
 beckoning to me, and shining over the 
 whole of my future life. I see your 
 presence like the glory of the morning 
 over every one of my days. With you by 
 my side, I see a path strewn with flowers ; 
 I feel the warmth of all the purest delights ; 
 the joy of the sweetest pleasures. Under 
 the light of your eyes I can become a 
 nobler man. I feel ready to struggle to- 
 wards a higher sphere of thought and 
 action. Were you to leave me, were you 
 to disappear from my life, everything must 
 be darkness and desolation, and my future
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. 89 
 
 be wrecked. Do not refuse to tread life 
 by my side, to hold out to me the helping 
 hand of affection, the strengthening look 
 of love. In your presence I loathe my 
 past nothingness, and all great things seem 
 easy Avhen near you. Say, will you not 
 accept me as the companion of your life, 
 for you to help, and to strengthen, and to 
 guide?' 
 
 It was sweet, very sweet ! This child 
 of the south, with his loveable soul, was 
 very delightful to listen to; could make 
 life appear very enchanting, and she said, 
 
 ' I would willingly try ; but, while un- 
 dervaluing your own merits, you exagger- 
 ate my powers to help you.' 
 
 ' Alas ! I have none ! none ! Only give 
 me some share of your affection in return 
 for my deep love ; only promise you will 
 in time try — to love me too.' 
 
 ' I will try,' she replied, a soft blush of
 
 90 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 maidenhood on her cheeks. 'It is early 
 yet, is it not ?' And the sweet, enchanting 
 smile did away with the pain the words 
 might inflict. 
 
 ' But you will try ? You promise ? 
 Say that you promise ; say again that you 
 will try to love me, and I am satisfied. 
 Say that you do not reject me.' 
 
 ' No, I do not reject you, and if 
 you feel sure you care for me — and it is 
 God's will, I hope our union will be 
 blessed.' 
 
 In his transport, he knelt on one knee 
 before her, he pressed with delight to his 
 lips the hand held out to him, and then 
 rose to his feet. 
 
 ' Every year of my life from now I con- 
 secrate to you, and for your happiness I 
 will live. Trouble shall never come near 
 you ; I will jealously watch over my own 
 treasure.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 91 
 
 He paused, and then went on more 
 quietly. ' And now tell me, advise me, had 
 I better go to my uncle, or send a messenger 
 to him ?' 
 
 ' I will tell you what I think, and then 
 you must do as you find best. My uncle 
 and aunt greatly desire to keep me with 
 them ; would not your income, joined to 
 my present one, be sufficient for us if we 
 stay? Would you stop here? Is your 
 aifection for me great enough to forego 
 all the pleasures of Paris ? In three 
 years we could take our place in the world 
 — three years of seclusion and happiness 
 would make us stronger to meet with the 
 difficulties that are inherent to a life at 
 Court. Will you agree to this ? I tell 
 you frankly that I should prefer it. The 
 Court frightens me ; it seems to me that 
 you will no longer belong to me entirely 
 when there. — You hesitate.'
 
 52 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I know not what to say. Is not the 
 bird to leave the nest when it begins to 
 feel its wings ?' 
 
 ' Wait, then, three years.' 
 
 ' No, no ! rather any condition than that. 
 Three years ! rather death at once. No, I 
 could not wait three years.' 
 
 ' Then we must fall back upon your 
 uncle.' 
 
 ' And his generosity I answer for. But 
 you will think of me in my absence ?' 
 
 ' Nay, do not go yourself,' she murmured, 
 some instinct making her loth to part 
 with this bright sunbeam that embellished 
 life for her ; ' stay with us. You have a 
 trusty and sure servant — send him.' 
 
 ' Will the comte allow my staying near 
 you while ' 
 
 ' We will ask him. — But I must go now 
 to my aunt and tell her of our happiness. 
 You are a great favourite of hers, and
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 93 
 
 she will be pleased.' And, lightly leaning 
 her hand on the arm of her accepted 
 lover, she went to the comtesse. 
 
 Later on, as Rohan de Carnoet was re- 
 turning from a visit, he met his friend full 
 of enthusiasm and delight. 
 
 '• Ah ! it is as I thought,' he said. ' You 
 are accepted.' 
 
 ' De Carnoet, congratulate me ; no hap- 
 pier man can exist in this world. I had 
 no idea what love could be. Everything is 
 new for me on earth. I am dazzled, fairly 
 dazzled by my good fortune. I, who was 
 afraid — do you remember how afraid I 
 was, De Carnoet? Such a short time ago, 
 and now But you scarcely congratu- 
 late me as I thought you would ! Is any- 
 thing the matter ? Have you met with 
 any accident ?' 
 
 ' No, I am very glad for you, very glad 
 indeed.'
 
 94 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Then why so gloomy ?' 
 
 'Am I gloomy ? I was not aware.' 
 
 ' But you are, you are. I thought you 
 would rejoice in my happiness ; you 
 seemed so to wish I should succeed, and 
 now ' 
 
 ' Forgive me, De Valvourgs ; you per- 
 haps are right, I ought to rejoice more 
 entirely with you ; but somehow I feel sad. 
 It cannot be envy or regret, and yet I 
 suppose there is something of both. We do 
 so long for a happiness we seem deprived 
 of, and our heart feels so lonely when there 
 is no sympathy near — I mean, you are so 
 very happy, while I ' 
 
 ' Oh, I know, I know; I can understand. 
 It was selfish of me to ask for an un- 
 bounded joy like mine. Such a prize! 
 There is none like her upon earth, none 
 like her !'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 95 
 
 ' None like her !' murmured De Carnoet 
 to himself, ' none like her !' 
 
 'And she is mine — mine !' 
 
 ' Yes — I congratulate you, De Val- 
 vourgs ; you will have reason to be proud 
 of your Breton wife.' 
 
 And he passed on, while his friend, look- 
 ing after him, said to himself, with an easy 
 smile of commiseration, 
 
 ' Poor fellow ! no wonder he feels sad ; 
 I should feel just the same in his place ; 
 but it is me she loves, or will love — Ah ! 
 Renee, my beautiful Renee, what a happy 
 life is before us !' 
 
 That night Mademoiselle de Kerguennec 
 appeared in all her beauty. She was 
 full of quiet enjoyment. Her modest 
 assurance, when talking to the cheva- 
 lier, was very enchanting to see ; there 
 was no bashfulness, and no timidity. She
 
 96 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 openly held out to him the hand of friend- 
 ship till she could offer him the hand of 
 love ; never dreaming even if love could 
 ever be necessary. She talked to him 
 frankly about their future plans, taking 
 the lead if need be, and listening with 
 attention when his suggestions came — one 
 they were and one they were to be, and 
 he was bright and handsome — and could 
 plead so well ! She smiled to herself when 
 remembering his words and how easily 
 they flowed ! His heart was no doubt 
 very full when he spoke ; — she could never 
 have said such things. Ah, she would be 
 happy, very happy ! 
 
 The chevalier, accustomed to the by- 
 play of treacherous love, drank his full at 
 this cup of pure joy. An angel coming 
 down with outstretched wings from heaven 
 and alighting upon earth to make it a 
 heaven for him, was to him scarcely
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 97 
 
 strong enough a figure to express his new 
 sensations. 
 
 And Rohan was there and looked on, 
 uncheered except with the crumbs of 
 politeness her delicacy made her give him 
 that he should not be altogether left aside. 
 He witnessed the chevalier's rapture, 
 looked at her new beauty, and her efforts 
 not to leave him entirely forgotten did not 
 satisfy him. What was it that had come 
 over him ? Why was he not able to shake 
 off that feeling of desolation which op- 
 pressed him ? None like her — no, none 
 like her was there in the world for him, — 
 and she was his friend's ! 
 
 Surely, surely he was above envy, he 
 told himself. And to envy the chevalier 
 he had now known for years seemed below 
 him. Yes, he was above envy, but he sought 
 for affection — her affection, perhaps — they 
 had lived so intimately of late, and 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 it had been so very sweet ; but he must 
 bid farewell to that pleasant intercourse for 
 the future. He would only be in their 
 way ; no one would care for him to be 
 there, and no one would notice his absence. 
 He had better go; better leave them to 
 themselves. And he determined to quit 
 the Chateau on the morrow.
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 It is one thing when, with harassed 
 spirits, we promise ourselves to take some 
 great step on the morrow, and another to 
 act towards its accomplishment when the 
 day dawns, and strength and courage are 
 renewed. The next morning, in the sweet 
 sunshine of Mademoiselle de Kerguennec's 
 presence, things assumed a different aspect 
 for Rohan de Carnoet. What was it that 
 had made him sad the day before? The 
 joy of the two lovers ? Was it not right 
 they should be happy together, and ought 
 he not to be satisfied with the few efforts 
 
 h2
 
 100 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 she had made to remember him ? Surely 
 he had been unjust! Why should he not 
 bask in the sunshine of her countenance 
 to the last, and rejoice with her in her 
 happiness? — No, he would not go away. 
 
 The hesitation that still remained in 
 him was done away with by the comte 
 asking Monsieur and Madame de Carnoet 
 to come to the Chateau on a visit. The 
 power of decision being taken away from 
 him, he thought he was right to be satis- 
 fied and thankful. 
 
 To the noise and excitement of the two 
 preceding weeks succeeded calm and quiet ; 
 and, with each one at the Chateau fully aware 
 of the goodwill of the others, the days 
 passed on full of enjoyment and peace. 
 
 Meanwhile, the messenger of the chevalier 
 was going through France the bearer of 
 the all important news. 
 
 One day as the chevalier was walking
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 101 
 
 with Renee on the terrace of the Chateau, 
 and the others were seated a little lower 
 down in the gardens, he asked her sudden- 
 ly what it was in Monsieur de Carnoet 
 that drew such marked respect from every- 
 one, and she looked up pleased at his 
 question. 
 
 ' You are right, chevalier,' she said ; ' you 
 should know all about the family of your 
 friend ; and I am delighted to tell you. I 
 suppose you guessed that the Carnoets 
 are poor? But they are not likely to 
 have told you the cause of their poverty ; 
 Monsieur Rohan is so modest and retiring ; 
 — do you not find him so ?' 
 
 ' Yes, always.' 
 
 ' Now let me see how much history 
 you know ; I mean our own Brittany 
 history ?' 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 'Very little, I fear, except such
 
 102 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 fragments as I have picked up lately.' 
 ' Brittany is so far from Provenge, is it 
 not ?' she replied, looking at him with an 
 amused smile. 
 
 ' Oh ! do not try to exculpate my ignor- 
 ance,' he replied, in the same tone. ' To 
 tell you the truth, in my knowledge of 
 history I ought to be likened to a man 
 carrvino^ a bas^ of seeds of which some will 
 bring forth names — some facts, some dates, 
 some places ; and who, when he wants a 
 particular part of history, opens his bag and 
 drops some seeds on the ground, and puts 
 together the facts that spring up, in 
 such a place with the dates and names 
 which spring up in another. I always 
 scatter my seeds broadcast, and pick 
 up my knowledge by bits as it springs 
 up ; and in that way I know a deal of 
 history — and geography.' 
 
 ' I am not sure that I understand, but
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 103 
 
 I gather tliat in that way you are never at 
 a loss for an answer.' 
 
 ' Right or wrong there is always an 
 answer ready : history is rather amusing 
 that Avay.' 
 
 ' Unfortunately, what 1 have to tell you 
 is not amusing, but very sad and serious. 
 All our history is more or less so ; we are 
 a stern and serious people, though not 
 lacking in poetry and love. Above all, 
 we are great lovers of independence, 
 and to this love of independence do 
 the Carnoets owe their misfortune — or 
 greatness, as one is pleased to consider 
 it. 
 
 ' The Carnoets are an old family, so old 
 that their name is associated with all the 
 exploits of the first Brittany kings ; and 
 some of its members are found at every 
 step in the history of the struggle of 
 Brittany against its foreign enemies. Thus
 
 104 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 it is that no further back than the early- 
 part of this century it happened that 
 the grandfather of your friend was con- 
 demned to death as traitor by the infamous 
 Regent of France. ' Our Parliament, or 
 " Etats," was still in existence, though 
 with maimed liberties, when the Regent 
 determined to crush it altogether. Then 
 there was but one cry in Brittany, and 
 noblemen and peasants rose en masse. 
 
 ' They conspired against the govern- 
 ment of France in the woods and among 
 druidical monuments. At Ploermel the 
 
 nobility united in the Marquis de L 
 
 my cousin's chateau. The room is still in 
 existence. They sang the old lays that 
 had often led their fathers and forefathers 
 to victory, declared their union with France 
 null and void, and proclaimed their entire 
 separation from the country which had 
 violated all the liberties which Louis-
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 105 
 
 XII. liacl sworn to respect in marrying 
 Anne de Bretagne. 
 
 ' Unfortunately, they allied themselves 
 to an ambitious Spaniard, who wanted his 
 king, Philip V. of Spain, to become Regent 
 of France, and this alliance proved their 
 ruin. They were betrayed, and the peasants 
 also, who hated the Spaniards, and who 
 had not been forewarned, were angry when 
 they saw their ships in sight. From that 
 moment the conspirators were lost. 
 
 ' The Regent sent into our unfortunate 
 country thirty thousand of those dragoons 
 trained in the Cevennes against the 
 Protestants. They committed the most 
 abominable outrages, — the most brutal 
 murders, and hunted men as beasts of prey. 
 But the noblemen had either iied or were 
 in hiding. Then the Regent promised that, 
 if the chiefs of the conspiracy would give 
 themselves up, he would withdraw the
 
 106 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 troops. Three of tliose brave men came 
 forward, and a fourth was betrayed. The 
 Regent, instead of having them judged by 
 their peers, instituted an informal tribunal, 
 and they were condemned to death at 
 Nantes. Their fortunes were confiscated, 
 their chateaux dismantled, their escutcheons 
 broken into pieces, and their woods and 
 forests cut down six feet off the ground as 
 a mark of dishonour. I will tell you the 
 lament sung about that terrible event, or 
 rather about the death of one of those 
 four men. 
 
 'But Monsieur de Carnoet, who had been 
 prevented by his wife from giving himself 
 up, had escaped so far, and was ready to 
 embark for Spain with one of his friends 
 in a Spanish ship, when he heard cries of 
 distress close by ; and, in spite of his 
 friend's entreaties and the threats of the 
 Spaniards that they would leave him be-
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 107 
 
 liind, if he did not come at once, he rushed 
 towards the place from which the cries 
 proceeded. There he saw a woman being 
 ill-treated by dragoons, and only consulting 
 his indignation, he fired, and, fighting 
 desperately to the last, died pierced by 
 numberless wounds, but with the comfort 
 of knowing that the victim of the dra- 
 goons had escaped. His chateau was not 
 only demolished, but burnt down to the 
 ground, and his widow and only son left 
 destitute. 
 
 ' The French government tried to hold up 
 the names of all those men to execration and 
 dishonour, but the admiration of their own 
 people, who consider them the last heroes 
 of Brittany's independence, has never 
 failed their descendants ; and I had rather 
 be as poor as your friend and be able to 
 count the noble deed among the many 
 noble ones of my ancestors.'
 
 108 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Renee cle Kerguennec's face was aglow 
 with entliusiasm as she related the few 
 particulars of the ' Conspiracy of Cella- 
 mare.' 
 
 ' I will sing the lament of the death of 
 the Marquis of Pontcalec to you, if you 
 like,' she said, softly ; and, with her sweet, 
 low voice tremblino; in her eao;erness and 
 excitement, she began : 
 
 
 i 
 
 wer - zeen ne - ve zo sa vet ; 
 
 i^ 
 
 :t^ 
 
 
 Trai - tour ! ah ! mal - loz d'id - ta ! War 
 
 ;it=.j 
 
 mar - kiz Pont - ka - 
 
 • lek 
 
 eo gret ; 
 
 
 ^/--= — - — r-^f — f^ 
 
 -Z^-- 
 
 * iT-— 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 -^.-^-\=^ 
 
 E 
 
 :& _^ I 
 
 --^rpt: 
 
 Trai - tour ah ! mal - loz d'id ! . . ah ! 
 
 But, stopping suddenly : 
 
 ' T forgot you did not understand our
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 109 
 
 Breton tongue/ she murmured ; ' I will 
 give you the burden of the lament, but I 
 will spare you the refrain. 
 
 *A new song has been made, made on the Marquis de 
 
 Pontcalec ; 
 Those Avho betrayed him be cursed, be cursed ! 
 Yes ! a new song on the young Marquis de Pontcalec, 
 
 so handsome, so full of life, and so noble- 
 hearted ! 
 He loved the Bretons, for he w^as born a Breton. 
 He was born a Breton and was brought up among his 
 
 own. 
 He loved his brethren, but not the town-people, who 
 
 all belong to the French party, 
 Who are always trying to injure those who have 
 
 neither fortune nor riches ; 
 Those who labour night and day to keep their 
 
 mothers alive ! 
 He had thought to help us in our misery ; 
 While they only tried to have him beheaded ! 
 
 " Seigneur marquis, hide yourself ; that occasion they 
 have found it !" 
 He has been lost a long time ; in vain they look for 
 him ; they cannot find him.
 
 110 A BEETON MAIDEN- 
 
 A wretch from the town, who begged for his bready 
 
 is the one who denounced him ! 
 A peasant would never have betrayed him, even if 
 
 offered five hundred crowns — 
 It was the fete of Our Lady of the Harvest ; the 
 
 dragroons were out searchinoj : 
 " Tell me, dragoons, are you not looking out for the 
 
 marquis ?" 
 " We are looking for the marquis ; do you know how 
 
 he is dressed?" 
 " He is dressed like a peasant, blue overcoat with 
 
 embroideries, blue waistcoat and leather gaiters, 
 
 small straw hat with red lines, on his shoulders 
 
 flowing, long black hair ; 
 " Leather belt, with two Spanish pistols ; 
 " His clothes are of thick stuff, but underneath he 
 
 wears golden ones : 
 "If you give me three crowns, I will tell yoa where 
 
 to find him " — 
 " We shall not give you three sous, and you will take 
 
 us to Pontcalec !" 
 " Dear dragoons, in God's name, do not hurt me ; 
 *' Do not injure me, and I will show you at once 
 
 where he is, 
 *' He is there yonder, in the priest's house, at table 
 
 with the Cure of Lisjnol."
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. Ill 
 
 " Seigneur marquis, fly ! fly ! Here are the dragoons 
 
 coming ; 
 " Here are the dragoons coming with shining arms- 
 
 and red coats." 
 " I cannot believe that a dragoon would dare to 
 
 touch me, 
 " I cannot think the fashion should have come for a 
 
 dragoon to lay hands on a marquis." 
 " He had barely finished speaking when the dragoons 
 
 filled the room, and he seized his pistols. 
 " If anyone comes near, I fire," he cried. 
 Seeing this, the old Cure fell at the feet of the 
 Marquis. 
 " In God's name and your Saviour's, do not fire, my 
 dear seigneur !" 
 At that name of our Saviour, who has suffered so 
 
 patiently, 
 At that name of our Saviour, his tears flowed in 
 
 spite of himself ; 
 His teeth were clenched, his head low against his 
 
 breast ; 
 But, looking up, he said, " I will go." — 
 As he crossed the parish of Lignol the poor peasants 
 
 said. 
 They said, the inhabitants of Lignol : " It is a sin 
 thus to bind the marquis."
 
 112 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 As he passed near Bernee, arrived a troop of 
 children. 
 " Good-morning, good-morning, Monsieur le Marquis, 
 
 we are going to catechism ?" 
 " Farewell, my good little ones, I shall see you no 
 
 more." 
 "But where are you going, seigneur? will you not 
 
 return soon?" 
 " I do not know, only God knows ; little ones, I am 
 in danger." 
 He wanted to caress them, but both his hands were 
 
 chained. 
 Hard would be the heart that could not have been 
 
 moved ; — even the dragoons wept. 
 And yet men of war have hard hearts in their breasts. 
 When he arrived at Nantes he was judged and 
 
 condemned ; 
 Condemned not by his peers, but by footmen fallen 
 
 from behind their masters' carriages. 
 They asked Pontcalec, "Seigneur marquis, what 
 was it you did?" 
 "I did my duty, follow your trade !" 
 
 I cry, my children, for a thing that will make you 
 
 cry too. 
 He is dead, poor people, he who fed you and 
 
 clothed and helped you,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 113 
 
 He is dead, he who loved you, inhabitants of 
 
 Bernee ; 
 He is dead, he who loved his country, and who 
 
 loved it unto death ! 
 He died at twenty-two, and as martyrs and holy 
 
 men die ! 
 God ! have mercy upon his soul. The seigneur 
 
 is dead; and my voice dies. 
 Curses ! curses on thy head, thou who didst betray 
 
 him ! 
 Curses — curses !' 
 
 As Renee de Kerguennec ended the 
 lament, which gave so true a picture of her 
 country and manners, a deep sigh, almost a 
 sob, burst from her lips. 
 
 ' Brittany, my poor Brittany !' she ex- 
 claimed. Then, looking up at the chevalier 
 half timidly, she added, ' Forgive me if 
 I seem to forget myself; I love my people, 
 I am proud of our heroes and feel for 
 them. But we will say no more on this 
 subject ; and, now that you know better 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 who your friend Rohan is, I feel sure you 
 will care for him none the less.' 
 
 ' No, indeed, no, indeed,' replied the 
 chevalier, quickly; ' I am thankful to you, 
 believe me, thankful for anything that can 
 make me feel with you.' 
 
 At that moment Rohan himself joined 
 them. The traces of emotion were yet on 
 Renee's face, and his eyes met hers still 
 wet with tears, and for one moment she 
 stood facing him, as if undecided. 
 
 How was it those two had not joined 
 hands before, and that their hearts were 
 still silent. Perhaps it is that the Breton 
 is slow to receive new impressions, or more 
 likely that the truth was still unknown to 
 both. They were friends, had always been 
 friends, they could feel for one another, and 
 perfectly understood each other. It was so 
 natural it should be so; were they not 
 both Bretons, and, like the unfortunate De
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 115 
 
 Pontcalec, had they not been brought up 
 among their own people, till the convent 
 opened for her education and the Court 
 for his. 
 
 And now they had met again, but a 
 strano-er had come between them Avith his 
 
 o 
 
 proposal of marriage, a stranger they both 
 liked, and who seemed too bright ever to be 
 the cause of trouble or sorrow to anyone. 
 
 Renee soon recovered, and with her 
 wonted smile said to the young men : 
 
 ' I will leave you now. You promised 
 to accompany me to the recteur to-day, 
 remember ;' and she was gone. 
 
 ' De Valvourgs ! what does this mean ?' 
 Rohan exclaimed, as soon as she was out 
 of hearing. ' Tears ! What can have 
 happened? Mademoiselle de Kerguennec 
 in sorrow ? Tell me, I entreat you, what 
 is the matter.' 
 
 ' Nothing, nothing, believe me, De Car- 
 
 i2
 
 116 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 noet. She has only been telling me who 
 the friend is I have cared for so long now. 
 She has told me of Brittany ; of the fate 
 of your grandfather; and has sung the 
 " Death of Pontcalec." ' 
 
 ' Ah ! she has not forgotten ! We used 
 to sing it together once as children, a long, 
 long time back, as it seems to me now ; and 
 she has not forgotten.' 
 
 ' De Carnoet,' the chevalier went on, 
 holding out his hand impulsively, ' I am 
 glad to know of your grandfather, proud to 
 be known by a grandson of his ; I trust we 
 shall for ever remain friends, and that 
 nothing will come to separate us.' 
 
 * No one could desire it more than I do,' 
 replied Rohan. ' Your friend I am and 
 will remain.'
 
 117 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The day did not pass, however, under the 
 gentle influence of the poetry of great 
 deeds. In the afternoon a servant came to 
 announce the visit of Monsieur de TroglefF, 
 and they all knew that the comte w^ould 
 have a difficult moment with him. 
 
 The chevalier looked at Renee, and said, 
 in a low, loving voice : 
 
 ' You are mine — mine ! He comes too 
 late now ?' 
 
 ' Too late,' she replied, with a smile, 
 ' though it seems that he came a year ago, 
 poor man.'
 
 118 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Do you pity him?' 
 
 ' Do you not pity all those who have to 
 bear with pain ?' 
 
 ' But that man, that man !' 
 
 But she laughed, little knowing the in- 
 tense hatred existing between the tAvo men.' 
 
 Ydeuc de Trogleif stood haughtily before 
 the comte. 
 
 ' Comte, tell me if it is the truth that 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec is to be 
 betrothed to the Chevalier de Valvourgs ?' 
 
 ' It is possible she will be.' 
 
 ' Possible ! possible ! Then will you 
 explain the words you used a year ago 
 when I came to ask you for her hand?' 
 
 '• I told you that my niece refused to 
 hear anything about marriage before she 
 was twenty-one.' 
 
 ' But now she is only eighteen ?' 
 
 ' She is only eighteen.' 
 
 ^ I wait for your explanation, comte.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 119 
 
 ' You liave a right to it. Her grand- 
 mother who lives near Paris was so anxious 
 she should make the acquaintance of the 
 chevalier that she yielded ; and — and has 
 accepted him as a bridegroom that is to 
 be.' 
 
 ' But. comte, I judge I have a right to 
 speak to Mademoiselle de Kerguennec. 
 She ought to have been told of my having 
 asked her in marriage before the chevalier 
 came. She ought to have given me an 
 answer. You had no right to dispose 
 of her hand before speaking to me. 
 You were bound to let me know of 
 the chevalier's intentions. 1 consider [ 
 have been most unjustly treated. On 
 my word of honour, I will not thus 
 tamely submit, I will not bow sub- 
 missively before such a decision ! Made- 
 moiselle de Kerguennec must hear me ; 
 she will understand that you were bound
 
 120 A ERETON MAIDEN. 
 
 to speak to her of my proposals. Never, 
 comte, never shall I forget this. I find 
 no excuse for what you have done, no 
 excuse for this gratuitous insult offered 
 to me. I had been willins; to wait till 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec could hear 
 me ; I relied on you to let me know if she 
 ever changed her mind. I would have 
 waited till she was twenty-one ; but to 
 treat me thus, to put me aside — spurn 
 me like an unworthy cur ! I will not bear 
 it, I will not bear it. I demand that 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec should hear 
 me, hear me even now, though it may be 
 too late. 1 demand that she should judge 
 between you and me, comte, between you 
 
 and me ' 
 
 ' She will, sir, as soon as you can govern 
 yourself; as soon as I am able to make 
 you understand that my niece was told of 
 your having asked her in marriage '
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 121 
 
 Ah ! she was told ? and — and- 
 
 'And — she did not see that — that she 
 could accept/ 
 
 ' Is that the truth ?' he exclaimed, 
 furious. 
 
 The comte smiled. 
 
 ' My dear sir, were it not that we all 
 know your fiery temper, I would not, be- 
 lieve me, put up with your way of speak- 
 ing to me. You should have known that 
 I would act honourably by you, and by 
 all men ; you would have heard from us 
 of my niece's engagement. However, no- 
 thing is settled yet ' 
 
 ' Nothing settled ! Do you say that 
 nothing is yet settled?' 
 
 ' Nothing. That is, we are waiting for a 
 letter from Provenge which will decide my 
 niece's future destiny.' 
 
 ' I must speak to Mademoiselle de 
 Kerguennec, comte, you have no right to
 
 122 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 forbid me. I must tell her of my lov- 
 ing her, of my waiting for her, she must 
 know ' 
 
 '• Is it quite necessary she should, do 
 you think, after she has refused you ?' 
 
 'Then I ought to have known it, and 
 not to have been kept waiting.' 
 
 'No one kept you waiting, you were 
 free to do as you chose ; no binding words 
 were there between you and me ' 
 
 ' But now, now you say all is not 
 concluded ? I must see her, I must ; you 
 cannot refuse me.' 
 
 ' My niece is in her own home and 
 perfectly free ; — you forget this. I have 
 no power to prevent her from seeing you. 
 Her father put her under my charge, and 
 that charge I have tried to fulfil to the 
 best of my knowledge for her good, but I 
 have no right to sway her mind one way 
 or the other. If you persist, I will tell her
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 123 
 
 of your wish, and let her do as she thinks 
 best.' 
 
 ' I certainly do insist on my right of 
 speaking to her.' 
 
 ' Very well ! Wait here, I will go to her 
 myself and explain the object of your 
 visit.' 
 
 ' Please to do so.' Monsieur de TroglefF 
 waved his hand impatiently, and, walking 
 up and down the room, waited for the 
 young girl to appear. 
 
 She soon came in ; gentle, unaffected, and 
 amiable as ever. 
 
 • You wish to see me. Monsieur de 
 Trogleff.' 
 
 He looked at her, and she saw him 
 tremble in the effort he made to conquer 
 himself. He could not speak. The sight 
 of the beautiful, calm girl before him sent 
 through his brain a ncAV longing for 
 her he had thought of with love ; and
 
 124 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 it was the chevalier who had won the 
 prize — the chevalier, a Proven9al ! He 
 mastered himself at last. 
 
 'Yes, I wanted to see you, mademoiselle; 
 I come to you for redress. I have waited a 
 whole year before speaking to you ; until 
 you were twenty-one, the age before which 
 the comte told me you would not allow any- 
 one to speak to you of marriage, I would not 
 force you to hear of my loving you. But I 
 hear now that — that anotherhas spoken, that 
 another has — has been listened to, while I 
 waited left in ignorance of your change of 
 mind on the subject ; and 1 who would have 
 waited for ever for your condescending to 
 hear me, I am told that — that ' 
 
 She interrupted him : 
 
 ' I am most sorry, monsieur ; had I known 
 that you were waiting for any decision from 
 me, I would have let you know. But I 
 was only told of your kind feelings towards
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 125 
 
 me, after my grand-mother's letter about 
 Monsieur le Chevalier de Valvourgs had 
 reached us. You must forgive me, but I 
 did not feel that — that a union between us 
 could — a woman, you see, has her fancies — 
 while justly admiring you for your great 
 qualities, my heart did not prompt me to 
 — to You must forgive me,' she re- 
 peated, ' and we must remain friends ; I 
 should be grieved if it were not to be so. 
 We shall remain friends, shall we not ?' and 
 she took a few steps towards him and held 
 out her hand to him. 
 
 He took her hand and carried it to his 
 lips. 
 
 ' I — love you. Your happiness would 
 have been my greatest care — T waited to 
 speak to you — I hoped that you would 
 listen to me in time. I deeply regret now 
 I listened to the comte ; I ought to have 
 spoken openly to you. I '
 
 126 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I entreat you do not distress us and 
 yourself with a trouble that could not be 
 avoided. Marriages are written in Heaven, 
 you know, and ours was not determined 
 there — and it could not have taken place. 
 You must comfort yourself. Do not such 
 things happen continually in this world? 
 But we part friends. It will always be a 
 pleasure to see each other, will it not ? 
 It will always be a pleasure for me to see 
 you.' 
 
 ' Ah ! I shall never, never comfort my- 
 self, mademoiselle, for this — misunder- 
 standing. Had I spoken to you before 
 — before the chevalier came ' 
 
 ' My uncle told me, before he came, 
 of your wish to marry me, so that his 
 presence has really nothing to do with 
 my decision. I seem cruel, I feel it, but 
 I cannot help speaking simply to you. It 
 is all so easily explained. I do trust you
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 127 
 
 will be comforted in time. I assure you 
 it will add greatly to my happiness to 
 know it. I feel as if I had been so unkind 
 towards you, and yet — yet, how could I 
 help it ? Suppose you were told of a 
 young lady in love with you, and you did 
 not think your dispositions would agree, 
 what would you do ?' 
 
 ' Do ? do ? Ah ! the more I see 
 
 you — the more I regret ' 
 
 ^Nay, nay; and you will come ' 
 
 ' Never ! I never could see you again — 
 never, never ! I must leave you, I am 
 heart-broken ; but — but I shall remember 
 who it is that ' 
 
 ' What is it you mean ?' 
 
 ' Oh ! nothing, nothing. Farewell, fare- 
 well. There are things a man cannot 
 forgive ;' and Monsieur de Trogleif left the 
 uncle and niece together. 
 
 ' Who is it he is threatening, uncle ?'
 
 128 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' My dear child, who but me.' 
 
 ' You ! Threatening you !' 
 
 'But he will forget, when his fit of 
 anger is over.' 
 
 ' Will he forget ?' 
 
 And her uncle, who well understood 
 what De Trogleff meant, merely said, 
 
 * I feel sure of it.'
 
 129 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 * The messenger, the messenger Thurio has 
 returned.' The words were heard and re- 
 peated by everyone, though nobody knew 
 who had uttered them first. 
 
 * Where is he ? Bring him here,' cried 
 the chevalier, rushing out to meet him. 
 
 * What news, Thurio ?' 
 
 ' Bad ! bad ! Monsieur le Chevalier.' 
 
 ' Bad ?' 
 
 ' I would not undertake such a journey 
 again, even for my dear master's sake ; 
 you meet nothing but cut-throats and 
 executioners and ' 
 
 VOL I. K
 
 130 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' But the letter — the answer?' 
 
 ' It is all right, it is all right, Monsieur 
 le Chevalier. I hid it. Ah ! Monsieur le 
 Chevalier, it is well for a servant to risk 
 his life, but what is the use of losing it, if 
 by so doing he fails to serve his master? 
 I knew what importance you set on the 
 answer.' — A matter of life and death it is, 
 I make sure, — 1 said to myself, remem- 
 bering your words and ways when sending 
 me to your uncle on that perilous jour- 
 ney ' 
 
 ' But the answer, man. What keeps 
 you chattering there instead of giving me 
 my uncle's answer ?' 
 
 ' Well, Monsieur le Chevalier, as I said, 
 I have it safe ; but only because I dressed 
 myself like them — like a common fellow ; 
 do you not notice my dress. Monsieur le 
 Chevalier? I am no longer the courier of 
 Monsieur le Chevalier, but a trader, a
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 131 
 
 simple trader, and I made sure of the 
 letter in a safe place ; and now I can die 
 in peace. Ah ! You would not be aston- 
 ished at my speaking as I do of death and 
 fear of death if you had seen the people 
 murdered in the streets as I have, only 
 because they had called themselves comte 
 or marquis. For there seem to be no 
 more dukes nor marquises, nor any noble- 
 men left in France, nothing but honest 
 citoyens — when they can be honest.' 
 
 ' Look here, Thurio, give me the letter 
 immediately, and I will listen to you after- 
 wards. Now come, I do not want to get 
 angry with you, for I know that you are a 
 faithful servant.' 
 
 'Angry ! Faithful ! Monsieur le Cheva- 
 lier,' grunted the man, half good-humour- 
 edly, looking down towards his boots. 
 ^ I thank my stars that I am a faithful 
 servant, and also that I was a saddler once,
 
 132 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 an apprentice-saddler, Monsieur le Che- 
 valier, for I always had a fancy for horses, 
 but that saddler's business has saved my 
 life and your letter, Monsieur le Chevalier !' 
 And, taking off one of his boots, he began 
 carefully to cut the stitches towards the 
 top, so as not to injure the boot nor the 
 lining inside, and going on talking, boot 
 in hand. ' Twenty times was I asked to 
 stand and deliver, Monsieur, le Chevalier, 
 but I would deliver nothing — " Take all I 
 possess," I cried, "but I am a nobody like 
 you, and you will find nothing upon me; 
 3^ou may turn everything inside out, and 
 search everywhere." There, Monsieur le 
 Chevalier, it is peeping out, and very 
 tempting it looks ; but I must not cut that 
 bit of leather carelessly — that bit of leather 
 held my very life, or the stitches did, 
 which is the same thing, is it not. Monsieur 
 le Chevalier ? Ah ! a few have o^one throuo^h
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 133 
 
 the letter, but better so than a sword through 
 your servant's body, Monsieur le Chevalier 
 — or your letter, such as it is, would not be 
 here/ 
 
 ^ Oh, Thurio, how long will you try my 
 patience ?' 
 
 ' Ah, but, Monsieur le Chevalier, you 
 should have seen people like you being 
 run after in the streets as I did! 
 '■^ Canaille r' I could almost have cried. 
 "What is it you are doing against your 
 betters, canaille f' would I have said to 
 them, but for that bit of shoe-leather so 
 neatly stitched ! What was the use of 
 istitching it so carefully, if I lost my 
 head. — There ! I deliver the message into 
 your hands. Monsieur le Chevalier. It is 
 rather soiled and discoloured, for it was 
 not fair weather always. But there it is, 
 a-nd right glad am I ! — And please let the 
 people know here what I have done ; tell
 
 134 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 them liow I deserve their praise. The 
 servants must have some consideration for 
 me, must they not?' 
 
 'Tell them yourself, Thurio, I fancy 
 you can speak for yourself a little. But 
 there, tell them from me that your master 
 is highly pleased with you. And now, 
 comte, this letter — ah ! it is as I thought, 
 all -kindness. Mademoiselle, Comte, De 
 Carnoet — all of you come and hear what a 
 delightful and good-natured old uncle mine 
 is. It is all settled. Read the letter aloud, 
 please, Comte ; we are all friends here.' 
 
 And the comte read : 
 
 ' ' My dear Nephew, 
 
 ' I am more than delighted 
 to find that you are so truly happy ! It 
 reads like a dream from fairy-land to hear 
 of love, peace, and beauty ! We manage 
 to do without all those things now-a-days
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 135 
 
 here, and til e world is not a bit the pleasanter 
 for it ! I may as well tell you now that I 
 knew Mademoiselle de Kerguennec to be 
 beautiful ; only I thought you would be 
 glad, under the circumstances, to find it out 
 for yourself. In my opinion, a wife should 
 be a delight to look upon ; otherwise I do 
 not understand the happiness of a married 
 man. True, they say that love is blind, 
 which is very comforting, but I have 
 failed to find in the world that friends are 
 blind also ; and we must expect sooner or 
 later through their kindness to recover the 
 use of sight. — But I am no judge in such 
 matters ! No doubt if I had met with a 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec, I should have 
 married ; for who could resist the charms 
 you describe with sucli enthusiasm, As it 
 is, I did not, and therefore are you my 
 heir ! Whether this is to be regretted or 
 not, you are the best judge.
 
 136 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Now let us see about this money busi- 
 ness, for it is most just that young people 
 should care to live, as well as old and 
 crusty bachelors like me. I have followed 
 the advice of several friends, and have sent 
 all my available money out of France, as I 
 have no wish for these good folk to get it. 
 You will therefore receive this year thirty or 
 forty thousand francs from England through 
 our lawyer — if he remains an honest man, 
 which I believe he will. This 1 suppose 
 will be enough for the present, for I should 
 advise you strongly to remain where you 
 are. Indeed, you have no choice, for the 
 king is really nothing else than a close 
 prisoner, and I feel sure you do not approve 
 of this gathering of noblemen out of the 
 kino^dom. How different it mio;ht have 
 been if, instead of waiting to ask the 
 help of our enemies, we gentilshommes of 
 France had rallied round the throne from
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 137 
 
 the very first. But it is clifficiilt to know 
 now what to do for the best. However, as 
 I said before, I see no other course open to 
 you but to enjoy your happiness to the full 
 in that most safe and quiet of places — 
 Brittany. 
 
 ' Thurio declares he is able to take this 
 letter to you without being beheaded or 
 hung, drawn, or quartered twenty times on 
 his way — otherAvise, I should not have 
 risked your life and mine by sending such 
 an epistle. I know we can trust him and 
 his expedients ; but he would not tell me 
 what he meant to do, for fear I should 
 betray him under torture ! But, thank 
 heaven, there is no torture in our time to 
 add to the horrors of the people's doings ; 
 the work is quick and effective, and one 
 does not mind that so very much. 
 
 ' I must ask you, my dear nephew, to 
 excuse my mentioning anything so dismal
 
 138 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 in a letter of congratulation ; unfortunately 
 it is difficult to escape contagion when you 
 are in the thick of the disease, and we 
 speak of nothing else but of our own 
 woes here. So forgive this part of my 
 letter. 
 
 ' My compliments to Monsieur le Comte 
 and Madame la Comtesse, though such 
 things as noblemen are no more to be, by 
 the sacred will of the people of France ! 
 And, as to my future niece, tell her that 
 the thought of being able to see her great 
 goodness and beauty some day, will 
 embellish every moment of my life, and 
 that she has my warmest wishes for her 
 happiness. 
 
 ' Your affectionate uncle, 
 
 ' Louis.' 
 
 Thus the answer that had been so long 
 coming was as good as it could be, and
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 139 
 
 everyone was made happy by it at Ker- 
 guennec ; yet in the evening, as the young 
 men were going to separate for the night, 
 the chevalier said to his friend, 
 
 ' De Carnoet, tell me what you think of 
 my uncle's letter ?' 
 
 'It is a most kind one.' 
 
 ' Nothing else ?' 
 
 ' What is it you mean ?' 
 
 ' Well, do you know, I have never heard 
 my uncle speak, or ever seen him Avrite 
 so sadly. Does it not strike you as if 
 he were either ill, or very much dis- 
 tressed ? It is strange, De Carnoet, but it 
 positively spoils my happiness. I feel as 
 if I ought to be near him either to revive his 
 spirits or help him out of his difficulties^ 
 whatever these may be. How hard it is 
 for us here to understand all that is going 
 on in France ! I wish, — I almost wish I 
 could be affianced to mademoiselle at once.
 
 140 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 even sooner than tlie comte proposes, and 
 then go and see him.' 
 
 ' You would not leave her?' 
 
 ' Only for a few days, or a week or two at 
 the utmost. I could manage, I daresay, 
 just as well as Thurio.' 
 
 ' But — but think, De Valvourgs ; it would 
 be — it must be — sorrow for her ; it must 
 be anxiety. I believe even your uncle 
 would blame you. How strange that, hav- 
 ing reached such a height of happiness, 
 you should think of endangering it. How 
 I should prize every moment near her, if I 
 were in your place. But you do not really 
 mean to go ?' 
 
 ' No, when one comes to speak of it, I am 
 afraid I must not go. But yes, it is as I 
 tell you ; something or other prevents me 
 from giving myself up wholly to my good 
 fortune. What is it ? a presentiment, or 
 what ?'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 141 
 
 ' You love your uncle and feel that he 
 is sad, that is all. But everyone almost, 
 except us, in this far-away j^lace, De 
 Valvourgs, is feeling sad in France, and 
 even for those emigres who have gone to 
 Germany or England, it must be terrible, 
 I should say. We are most fortunate ; 
 let us be thankful, De Valvourgs, and I 
 entreat you, in whatever you wish to do, 
 remember her first.' 
 
 ' Yes, yes, but for her I would go to him, 
 for he has been a father to me ; I have 
 known of no other. But you are right, 
 how can I think of leaving her now ? 
 Though, as Thurio has returned very 
 quickly, I might — but no — I will not 
 think of it ; good-night — good-night. No : 
 I could not bear to leave her now, I could 
 not. Good-night, good-night.' And they 
 parted. 
 
 Once in his room, Rohan de Carnoet felt
 
 142 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 in no way disposed to rest. The day had 
 brought him strano:e feelings of uneasiness. 
 This friendly intercourse with the inhabit- 
 ants of Kerguennec had been charming. 
 They had lived together more like the 
 members of one family since his father 
 and mother had joined them. It had 
 seemed so natural to reciprocate a thou- 
 sand little cares and attentions, and to 
 bring his own share to the common fund 
 of good-temper and pleasantness. All had 
 been joy. Every day had brought fresh 
 simple and pure pleasure, and everything 
 had contributed to the general happiness. 
 The weather had been exceptionally fine ; 
 the evenings, spent mostly in the woods, 
 had been clear and calm ; the atmosphere 
 laden with the scent of flowers. ' A dream 
 of fairy-land,' Rohan de Carnoet repeated 
 to himself when alone. 
 
 Yet, though they had all longed for
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 143 
 
 that letter to come, though the letter was 
 as satisfactory as it could be, something 
 there was that had brought an unwelcome 
 change. When it was decided that the 
 jianqailles for various reasons should take 
 place as early as possible, Renee de 
 Kerguennec had suddenly turned pale and 
 they had all been glad at last to separate. 
 Now, the chevalier was thinking of his 
 uncle before thinking of the bride he had 
 just secured. As for himself, the unsatis- 
 fied longing of once before had returned, 
 and was stronger than ever. Though sure 
 now that Mademoiselle de Kerguennec had 
 never forgotten the friendship of their 
 younger days, he wanted to leave her — to 
 be far away from her. He was almost 
 vexed with her for having for one 
 moment looked so pale, and certainly 
 much annoyed with the chevalier for 
 not considering her enough, and for
 
 144 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 darino; to think of leavino: her so soon. 
 
 He paced up and down his room till the 
 night was far advanced. Tired out, he at 
 last sat down in his arm-chair, and, closing 
 his eyes, a feeling of sleep came over him. 
 
 In a moment he found himself alone in 
 the woods, on the seat Mademoiselle de 
 Kerguennec was most fond of; a strong 
 scent of pine-trees was upon him, the soft 
 murmur of the running brook lulled his 
 senses in soft forgetfulness — and then she 
 appeared to him, with the same beautiful 
 face, the same enchanting smile, the same 
 white dress she usually wore on those 
 warm days ; and, as she approached him, 
 she laid her hand on his shoulder, and 
 her eyes were lost in his, her face touched 
 his, — and he started up wide awake. 
 
 He lifted his hand to his forehead like 
 a man suddenly struck with a horrible 
 fear ; his eyes acquired a strange fixed-
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 145 
 
 ness, as if arrested by some dreaded 
 sight. Then, by a strong effort of Avill, 
 he laughed out — 
 
 ' Nay, nay, these creatures of the brain 
 are but the offsprings of habit and of 
 sleep. We live surrounded by people and 
 things, and the mind, getting accustomed 
 to rest on what surrounds us, carries 
 the image before us, when drowsiness 
 falls on our senses. It may be a sound, 
 it may be a perfume, a flower ; it may be 
 a picture, it may be a living creature — a 
 
 woman . We are such creatures of 
 
 habit, that even in sleep we cling to 
 what is near. We would that people did 
 not pass away, that things should remain 
 for ever the same; then would we willing- 
 ly live for ever That is all — that is 
 
 all — an absence, a new tune, a new face, 
 new impulses, and the present drives away 
 the past — and the past may have been 
 
 VOL. I. li
 
 146 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 pleasant, may have been sad, but — it is 
 the past, and it cannot be recalled ! So 
 this day — this night — this dream — are 
 already things of the past, never again to 
 revive the same intensity of life — things 
 of the past — things of the past.' 
 
 And Rohan de Carnoet went to rest to 
 look for strength for the morrow. 
 
 The betrothal, the comte thought, had 
 better take place at once, and everyone 
 seemed naturally to come to the same con- 
 clusion. What the reasons were for such 
 haste none could have told. Some near 
 relations of Mademoiselle de Kerguennec 
 were invited ; and, a few days after the 
 receipt of the letter, there was a new 
 gathering of friends at Kerguennec. 
 
 The impression of sadness the letter of 
 his uncle had first left in the chevalier's 
 mind passed away. He was elated and
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 147 
 
 brilliant; only regretting that it should 
 be his jianqailles they were preparing in- 
 stead of his wedding. His perfect happi- 
 ness was contagious. The whole house- 
 hold, even down to the servants, felt it. 
 
 Thurio seemed as excited as his master, 
 boasting loudly that his apprenticeship to 
 the saddler had saved not only his own 
 life but that of his master and his bride, 
 and everyone else concerned. The chevalier 
 indulged his fancy, and liberally rewarded 
 his having so cleverly saved his own neck 
 from the wiles of a whole nation set on the 
 watch to catch him. 
 
 The comtesse and Madame de Carnoet 
 rejoiced in the happiness of the girl they 
 loved so much ; they were certain that her 
 union with the chevalier would prove 
 a source of blessing. Meanwhile, the 
 ceremony of the betrothal would be gone 
 through, and would give more liberty to 
 
 l2
 
 1 48 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 the young people — and be a security in 
 those days of change and trouble. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec herself 
 seemed satisfied. After that first moment 
 of maidenly fear, she had yielded herself 
 entirely to the joy of the chevalier, and 
 was looking forward to contributing to his 
 happiness all the days of her life. 
 
 Rohan de Carnoet stood aloof Modest 
 and retiring they knew him to be, and 
 no wonder was expressed at his absence. 
 
 So the day came when the two yoang 
 people were to promise that they accepted 
 each other as husband and wife, and would 
 be faithful to their troth. 
 
 The cure was there, and during the 
 dinner there was not a jarring note, not a 
 discordant element, to check the flow of 
 good-will and satisfaction that prevailed. 
 
 After dinner the guests retired to the 
 drawing-room — made brilliant with flowers.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 149 
 
 The Prayer-book and the two rings that 
 were to be exchanged were on the table 
 near the cure ; and an expectant silence 
 fell on everyone waiting for the fiancee to 
 appear. At last she came leaning on her 
 uncle's arm. She was extremely pale but 
 exquisitely beautiful. 
 
 The chevalier felt as if he could fall 
 on his knees before her; his voice and 
 hand trembled as he came towards her, 
 and, seeing him there, she smiled a 
 smile of affection and encouragement. 
 Thus, pleased with each other, they prayed 
 God to bless their fianqailles ; and having 
 received, lowly kneeling, the blessing of 
 the priest, they rose and exchanged rings. 
 The young people felt this was the 
 beginning of a union to be binding for life. 
 Kind feelings and kind w^ords filled the rest 
 of the time, and both the chevalier and 
 Renee, in this atmosphere of love, looked
 
 150 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 forward to love and peace and happiness 
 in the future. 
 
 No thought of sorrow could find place 
 in their hearts — no anxiety for the morrow; 
 it was sweet to love, and sweet to live. 
 Alas ! at that very moment hatred and 
 revenge were raging uncontrolled in 
 France.
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The cure had left, but he had asked the 
 youiig people, and as many of the elder 
 ones as could come, to join them that night 
 in the service of the midnight mass which 
 was to be held in boats on the open sea. 
 He thought it would end the day in a 
 befitting manner, he had said, if they were 
 to come and praise God for His blessings 
 along with their poorer and less fortunate 
 brethren ; and they all looked forward with 
 pleasure to their evening. A boat was to 
 be in readiness for them at an appointed 
 place ; but as discretion was above all
 
 152 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 things needful, and they must see that they 
 were not followed, there was just enough 
 in the adventure to make it exciting. 
 
 It did not occur to them that they 
 might be doing wrong in going to pray 
 with the priest they honoured, though he 
 was exercising his ministry in secret ; 
 they never thought of the hardship this 
 secresy entailed upon the poor villagers, 
 who held their ceremonies of baptism and 
 marriage and even of death either in the 
 night or in secluded places. — Poor humble 
 believers who were going through the 
 trial of their faith as thousands had done 
 before them in the world, — and who were 
 obliged to worship, in fear of seeing the 
 beloved priest who ministered to their 
 spiritual wants carried off to prison and to 
 death ! 
 
 Renee and her uncle and the two young 
 men were just thinking of getting ready
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. • 153 
 
 for the ^valk, when there was suddenly 
 heard outside the door a strange and 
 unusual commotion ; and a servant in 
 great trepidation announced the visit of 
 the mayor of the next town. Two sol- 
 diers accompanied him. These remained 
 outside the door, but the mayor, dressed 
 in plain clothes, and with the tricolore 
 scarf round his body as a sign of his office, 
 advanced towards the middle of the room 
 within hearing of those assembled there. 
 
 ' Citoyen Kerguennec,' he said, ' please 
 excuse this visit, which no doubt sur- 
 prises you. But, first of all, let me tell 
 3^ou that you have nothing to fear from 
 it ; I come here simply prompted by my 
 great respect for you, and by my anxiety to 
 keep the peace. You cannot be ignorant 
 of what is taking place on your estate ; 
 how the citoyen cure defies all authority, 
 for he not only refuses to acknowledge
 
 1 54 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 the existing government, but in spite of 
 the decree issued against him continues 
 to exercise his ministry. I am grieved to 
 say that I have now orders to arrest 
 him ; and you know that once in prison 
 there is little hope of escape. To-morrow 
 a new cure will come, and what hap- 
 pened once before cannot happen again. 
 The first cure appointed to replace him 
 had to go because he always found his 
 church empty, and the people gone at 
 his approach ; now, however, if the vil- 
 lagers show the same opposition, my duty 
 will be to employ force to make them 
 respect the cure. I entreat you, therefore, 
 to use your power or authority over the 
 citoyen cure, for him not to incite his 
 people to revolt. Till now we have been 
 spared all those scenes of bloodshed, and 
 I would do anything for the people 
 under my jurisdiction to be so spared to
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 155 
 
 the last. May I reckon on your help^ 
 citoyen T 
 
 'Your visit honours you, sir,' replied 
 the comte, with great politeness, ' but I 
 am afraid I have no power over Monsieur 
 le Cure ; he feels himself bound by his 
 duty to remain by his flock.' 
 
 ' He feels himself bound to rebellion 
 and obstinacy through selfishness,' replied 
 the mayor, quickly. ' The disturbers of 
 peace should be chastised ; and it is a 
 pity it should be one of those bound by 
 their calling to speak of peace who is 
 the cause of discord. But I am commanded 
 to meet rebellion by force ; and, citoyen, 
 although I do not care to make use of 
 threats in this altogether conciliatory visit, 
 let me advise you to be careful how you 
 show hospitality to a man almost under 
 the sentence of death ; let me advise you 
 not to abet the citoyen cure in his dis-
 
 156 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 obedience to tlie law. We have been 
 spared so far, I repeat ; and I believe it is 
 in our power to be spared to the last. 
 Ask hiin to cro away and to leave us ; we 
 shall then have peace.' 
 
 '• I am sorry that I cannot agree with 
 you in this ; their priest gone, the villagers 
 would resist still, I fear.' 
 
 ' Then so much the worse for the vil- 
 laofers, and for all concerned. I have 
 done a thing outside my office entirely ; 
 I am running the risk of being censured 
 or even dismissed for it, but I was deter- 
 mined to try to keep the peace in our 
 country places if possible, determined to 
 try every means and to ask for your aid ; 
 but I can do no more. Whatever happens 
 in future, remember that you have been 
 forewarned. Citoyens, citoyennes^ I wish 
 you good-day.' 
 
 ' Stay one moment, sir, and allow me to
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. IbT 
 
 thank you warmly for your well-meant 
 visit, and to tell you that I appreciate it 
 fully. I will do my utmost to secure 
 peace, believe me ; and whatever happens 
 you may be sure that I am of one mind 
 with you in Avishing to avoid the disgrace- 
 ful scenes of disorder and bloodshed that 
 have taken place so often elsewhere. Again 
 I thank you, sir.' And the comte bowed 
 courteously to the mayor, whose face 
 flushed with a pleasure he was bound to 
 hide. Then, muttering more words of 
 salutation, he left. 
 
 A strange sensation of dismay fell on the 
 party at the Chateau. The comtesse, who 
 was near Renee, seized her in her arms 
 convulsively, crying, 
 
 ' Oh ! what a visit of ill-omen at such a 
 moment !' 
 
 'Dearest,' said the comte, soothingly, 
 ' why seek trouble where it is not ? Thi&
 
 158 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 relates entirely to a different matter, and 
 has nothing to do with us.' 
 
 'But his threats !' 
 
 ' Do not attach too much importance to 
 them. Why should evil come to us because 
 it has come to others? there is no such 
 law in the world ; on the contrary, some 
 rejoice while others weep ; there are even 
 some who profit by the weeping of others. 
 But let us see in what we can help this 
 worthy man who seems better than his 
 fellows. Moreover, he is right ; I Avish 
 we could persuade Monsieur Brevelaye 
 to go.' 
 
 ' He must be persuaded to go,' said Mon- 
 sieur de Carnoet ; ' but I fear our peasants 
 will not take it kindly, and his brother will 
 be a terrible fellow to convince. But, indeed, 
 it is the best thing for him to do ; he is sure 
 to be caught sooner or later ; while we can 
 look after him when he is abroad, and send
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 159 
 
 him supplies till these troubles are past. 
 Are you going to the service, comte ?' 
 
 ' No, I will not seem to — abet Monsieur 
 Brevelaye's disobedience, as the man has 
 it. There is nothing lost by prudence.' 
 
 ' But we can go, can we not ?' asked 
 Renee. 
 
 ' Still bent upon pleasure !' said the 
 uncle, playfully touching her cheek. 
 
 ' No, not quite that ; but we might speak 
 to the villao-ers on our return and advise 
 them to be quiet. Could we not ?' she 
 ended, looking up for approval at the 
 chevaher. 
 
 ' Certainly, I think mademoiselle is right ; 
 the more we show ourselves ready to 
 submit to them, the easier they mil find 
 it.' 
 
 ' You think your example of some 
 importance? Well, well, perhaps you are 
 right, only be prudent, be prudent.'
 
 160 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Dear uncle, are not love and youth 
 always allied to prudence ?' 
 
 The uncle laughed, as Renee meant he 
 should. 
 
 ' Anyhow, there can perhaps be no 
 harm done to-night by your joining the 
 service ; the new cure only comes to- 
 morrow, and till then there is no danger 
 for Monsieur Brevelaye. But remember 
 he told you he thought there Avere spies 
 set to watch him ; see that you are not 
 followed, if you can help it.' 
 
 ' We will be very careful, never fear, and 
 now let us go. I must first go and get ready. 
 It is a pity to take off the betrothal dress 
 so soon, is it not ?' she remarked laughing- 
 ly to the chevalier. 
 
 ' You will all the sooner put on the 
 bridal one, I hope,' he replied, in the same 
 tone. And the younger members of the 
 party started off chatting cheerfully ; and,
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. 161 
 
 strange to say, not about tlie charms 
 and loveliness of their surroundings, but 
 about Paris, that treacherous beacon 
 set on high, where so many a young man 
 from the province had become forgetful 
 of the sweet and simple joys of home ; 
 Paris, with its Court and its King and 
 beautiful Queen. How delightful to meet 
 there again after all the present troubles 
 were over. It would enhance every 
 pleasure for the two young men to have to 
 introduce Renee to the world they knew so 
 well ! They would be two to guard over 
 her, two to be jealous of her happiness, 
 two whose first thought and care she 
 would be ! 
 
 And she laughed and thanked them. 
 
 And the chevalier related his first an- 
 nouncement to Rohan of his future mar- 
 riage — told his fiancee how he had dreaded 
 to see her ; how he had felt the presence of 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 his friend to be a tower of strength on his 
 way to her ; and how Rohan had not found 
 out in the girl of eleven whether the woman 
 of eighteen would be beautiful or ugly ! 
 
 And so they Avalked on, well pleased with 
 themselves, well pleased with one another, 
 and soon arrived at the village buried in 
 peace. 
 
 How difficult to realise that there might 
 soon be war there ! Poor peasants, they 
 did not go out of their way to fight, and 
 were peaceful enough if left alone ! Why 
 should there always be some element of 
 discord coming from Paris to disturb them ? 
 From time immemorial it had been so ; 
 and at last they had almost always been 
 obhged to yield — at least of late. If there 
 was a new struggle it would end again in 
 the same way ; and all sorts of sorrow 
 would come upon them. 
 
 So thought Renee on reaching the first
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 163 
 
 cottages ; and she became serious, pro- 
 mising herself to do her utmost to help 
 them through. They went through the 
 village, passed the pretty church which 
 looked sadly forlorn and desolate. No 
 urchin was ever seen now playing on 
 its steps ; no beggar leaning against 
 its wall. This refuge of the poor and 
 lonely was forsaken as if stricken by the 
 plague. For more than six months now it 
 had been shut ; and the bells, always so 
 dear to the Breton heart, had been silent. 
 For the cure appointed by the Republic 
 had found nobody to ring them for him ; 
 Avhen he had done it himself, the peasants 
 had taken it as a signal to avoid the 
 church ; and he had been reduced to say 
 the mass alone, and at last had left in 
 despair. They certainly had a will of their 
 own, those poor peasants, and were not to. 
 be carelessly trifled with !
 
 164 A BRETON IMAIDEN. 
 
 Soon they readied a house a little 
 apart from the rest, though just the same 
 as the others, with its low thatched roof 
 and small windows, and the chevalier found 
 himself for the first time within a Breton 
 cottage, and looked around him wdth much 
 interest. 
 
 It was composed of but one large room, 
 at one end of which about a dozen cows 
 were sheltered for the night. Only a low 
 door and a manger separated this part 
 of the habitation from the rest. 
 
 Ranged along the walls were the lits clos, 
 — deep cupboards up to the ceiling, with 
 three or four or more broad shelves, on 
 which the bedding was laid; each shelf 
 having its own sliding-doors of walnut, 
 carved with open patterns, to admit a little 
 air. 
 
 The cattle was under the master's eye 
 during the night, and so were the sons
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 165 
 
 and daughters, and the servants of the 
 farm ; who undressed and dressed each in 
 the compartment assigned. 
 
 The dark carved doors, the large cup- 
 boards, also of sculptured walnut, with 
 their highly-polished brass fittings, which 
 contained all the wardrobe and the goods 
 and chattels of the family, gave a look 
 of luxury to the room, in spite of cattle, 
 earthen floor, and naiTOw windows. 
 
 On one side of the wide, open fire- 
 place was a wooden construction — a high- 
 backed arm-chair for the oldest of the 
 family, who among these people of patri- 
 archal customs and manners receives the 
 greatest marks of respect and reverence. 
 On the other side was a bench for the 
 invited guest or the pauper. In the mid- 
 dle of the room was a table, with a large, 
 round, dark rye loaf, covered up with a 
 spotless, coarse white cloth ; and a pitcher
 
 166 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 of cider. This was the hospitality oifered 
 to any new comer. From the thick and 
 blackened rafters hung herbs, onions, 
 hemp, seeds, tools, or anything that 
 could hold there. Above the huge chim- 
 ney a strange-looking leather ball was 
 seen, and an old gun. Over the hearth 
 was an iron pot containing the soup for 
 the members of the family on their 
 return. 
 
 At that time of night the flies were at 
 rest ; the smell from the cows Avas not over 
 offensive ; and when an old man — a bed- 
 ridden invalid — pushed back one of the 
 carved doors of his bed, and his white 
 head was seen resting on a clean pillow, 
 the chevalier thought the room in no way 
 repulsive. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Kerguennec sat on the 
 hahut^ or oak cofl'er close to the bed — used by 
 those who had to climb to the upper shelves
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 167 
 
 to sleep ; and there she talked to the old 
 man, while the flickering resin light stuck 
 in the large chimney shed a kind of halo 
 round the face of the beautiful girl. 
 
 ' Juan, we are a little late, I fear : are 
 all the others gone?' 
 
 ' They are gone, mam'zelle, but will re- 
 turn for you as far as creek Henbon,if you 
 will go there.' 
 
 ' And you are pretty well, Juan ?' 
 
 ' Just the same, by the will of God.' 
 
 * Not troubled in your mind by all the 
 bad news from Paris ?' 
 
 The invalid looked sharply at the cheva- 
 lier, hesitating ; and Renee, noticing it, 
 laughed. 
 
 ^ Why, Juan, this is my fiance^ the 
 Chevalier de Valvourgs. We went through 
 the ceremony to-day ; won't you wish me 
 good luck ?' 
 
 ' Ah ! mam'zelle, ah ! mam'zelle, good
 
 168 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 luck ! — it is not that which one would wish 
 to you, but all happiness and God's blessing, 
 mam'zelle. Monsieur le Chevalier, I am 
 pleased to see you.' 
 
 The old man's speech rather took aback 
 the young chevalier, who answered that 
 he also was pleased to make his acquaint- 
 ance. But Renee was determined to 
 speak to Juan of what was uppermost in 
 her mind. 
 
 ' Juan, are you aware that the second 
 cure is coming to-morrow to replace your 
 son ? Is Monsieur le Cure very much put 
 out, do you think ?' 
 
 ' My son will do God's will, which is to 
 stay by his flock, whatever the wicked 
 devise.' 
 
 ' But, if he went away for a short time, 
 would it not be safer? He would re- 
 turn to us when all these troubles are 
 over.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 169 
 
 ' He who lias put his hand to the plough 
 should not look back.' 
 
 ' You mistake, Juan, your son could not 
 call it " looking back." It would be great 
 sorrow to him, no doubt, but there would 
 be no dread of fighting and killing.' 
 
 ' Martyrs there have been always in the 
 church of our blessed Lord ; if he is called 
 to martyrdom, we will go to him in 
 Heaven, where he will pray for us. — But 
 the men must be waiting for you at 
 the creek, and time is short ; it will 
 very soon be twelve o'clock, and you 
 must not make our holy priest wait for 
 you.' 
 
 ' Well, we will go, Juan, but I wish you 
 could see the matter as we do at the 
 Chateau, and raise your voice against 
 what will cause blood-shedding ; God does 
 not approve of that, you know. To- 
 morrow soldiers are comimr with the new
 
 J 70 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 cure. What may not happen in such a 
 conflict ?' 
 
 ' Soldiers ! soldiers ! — Ah, Monsieur de 
 Carnoet, your grandfather, knew what they 
 were, those soldiers of the French king, 
 but — but the soldiers of Christ have more 
 power than any of these.' 
 
 ' I am sorry, Juan, that you do not con- 
 sider it better to yield to the storm : 
 many good men have done so. But good- 
 bye, we will not keep Monsieur le Cure 
 waiting. Good-bye, Juan.' 
 
 'Is this Monsieur Brevelaye's father?' 
 asked the chevalier when they were outside. 
 
 ' Yes,' 
 
 ' He seems a fine old man, but very deter- 
 mined. Will all the others be as obstinate ? 
 There is but little hope of peace, if so.' 
 
 The chevalier is right, — indeed there 
 is not ! What does the law-maker in 
 Paris know of the longings and spiritual
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 171 
 
 wants of the Breton peasants ? That 
 humble priest, born among them, whose 
 language and thoughts they understand, 
 whose virtues they know, is to be re- 
 placed by an alien to the soil ! They 
 are to be parted from their adviser, their 
 comforter, their friend, the only one 
 they can go to in trouble and at every 
 step in life : — from him who has opened to 
 them the Christian world and who will 
 at their death open to them the gates of 
 Heaven ! But their life of toil and sad 
 privation is but a longing for Heaven, for 
 without the hope of everlasting rest it 
 would be difficult, almost impossible for 
 them to exist ! 
 
 And their priest who knows their 
 longings, who has the same aspirations, 
 whose life is one long renunciation and 
 earth but a stepping-stone to Paradise, he 
 will not leave his flock and look after his
 
 172 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 own life and comfort here below. He is of the 
 stuiF that martyrs are made of, — with but 
 one object in life : to gain Heaven through 
 much tribulation and even through death ! 
 With that one object in view, that one 
 hope, ever}i;hing else fails in interest ; per- 
 secution is w^elcome, for it adds to the list 
 of his merits — it forces the expected re- 
 ward ; it is as a promise from on high 
 that he is thought worthy; it brings 
 Heaven nearer ! Death only could be 
 more welcome ; but he will not court 
 death, and this will be accounted to him 
 among the number of his good deeds ! 
 
 The care of his body is in his brother 
 Loik's keeping. Loik worships his brother, 
 and has an almost feminine tenderness for 
 him; his brother is a man of God and 
 does not think of providing himself with 
 the necessities of life; and he — Loik — is un-
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 173 
 
 worthy to sit and talk with him, but cooks 
 his meals, if need be, and makes his bed. His 
 mother spins the flax and makes the linen 
 for both her sons, but that of the cur6 is 
 always the finer. The old father, who 
 has worked so hard and has lost his health 
 in order to make him a priest, always 
 asks him for his blessing ; and Lo'ik, who 
 cleans his boots, kneels down before him and 
 worships and says his beads. His brother 
 looks to heaven ; he looks to his brother, 
 and with the two there is the same absorbed 
 look that prevents men from seeing the 
 trifles of life, and makes them go straight 
 to the end before them. — 
 
 The three young people had become 
 thoughtful, and walked the rest of the 
 way more or less in silence. They reached 
 the creek, however, and felt sure nobody 
 had been watching them.
 
 174 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 They found awaiting them with a fishing- 
 boat, rowers who put off from the little 
 bay that had sheltered them. 
 
 The sea was calm and beautiful, and the 
 moon, now and then veiled by light sum- 
 mer clouds, shed a mild soft light on the 
 waves. The farther they got from the 
 shore, the larger the number of boats they 
 saw emerge all along the coast from the 
 tall cliffs — gliding in silence towards the 
 open sea and avoiding that path of silvery 
 water which danced under the moon's 
 rays. Soon in the perfect silence of the 
 night, only broken by the noise cf the 
 oars, was heard a distant silver bell, and 
 every bark rowed towards the place from 
 which the sound came. One large boat, 
 all alone, was there in the distance, and, as 
 soon as it was perceived, the eyes of the 
 crowd of men, women, and children in the
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 175 
 
 other boats, were all directed towards it. 
 They remained at a respectful distance 
 and formed a semicircular group round it ; 
 then the boat advanced towards the centre 
 and stopped, and in the midst of the 
 silence, broken only by the gentle murmur 
 of the waves that came rippling up against 
 the keels of the boats, a man's voice rose 
 strong and solemn : 
 
 ' Dominus vobiscum !' 
 
 And the kneeling crowd responded : 
 
 ' Et cum spirit u tuo !' 
 
 And the cure, clothed in his white sur- 
 plice and embroidered stole, the golden 
 threads of which now and then glittered 
 like the twinkling light of a star, began to 
 say mass to the serious and attentive 
 crowd, whose murmured responses lost 
 themselves on the moving waters. 
 
 And, when the silver bell announced the
 
 176 A BEETON MAIDEX. 
 
 elevation of the consecrated host, the crowd 
 prostrated themselves and wept aloud, for 
 their shepherd was an outcast, and the 
 consolations of religion they could only 
 get by stealth. 
 
 At last the mass was concluded, and the 
 priest's voice borne above the waves pro- 
 nounced the blessing on the people. Then 
 his sermon began. Alas ! the burden 
 of it was this : Forgiveness of sins to 
 those who persevered in the path they 
 had already chosen, but eternal damna- 
 tion and reprobation if they accepted the 
 new priest's teaching; if they allowed 
 themselves to be seduced into assisting 
 at his mass, into believing in the sanctity 
 of his ceremonies, or even into selling him 
 the necessaries of life. Baptism and mar- 
 riage, through him — he, their true priest, 
 declared null and void and even criminal. 
 No, they had their choice : Damnation for
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 177 
 
 all eternity, or everlasting bliss. He would 
 be faithful ; let them be faithful too, even 
 unto death. 
 
 The ceremony was over, and the boat 
 containing the cure speedily disappeared 
 with the help of its strong oarsmen. Then 
 the people who had been on their knees 
 rose up, and suddenly a powerful voice 
 started the Canticle of Hell^ in which all 
 joined before separating and going back to 
 their homes. This canticle Renee and 
 Rohan de Carnoiit knew well, and awful it 
 sounded borne away in the silence of the 
 waters. It runs thus : 
 
 ' Let us all descend into hell, Christians ! and see 
 what a horrible punishment those condemned souls 
 which God's justice holds enchained in the midst of 
 flames, suffer for having abused His goodness in this 
 world. 
 
 ' Hell is a deep abyss full of darkness into which 
 even the smallest streak of light never penetrates. 
 
 ' Its gates have been closed and locked by God 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Himself, and He will never open them — the key is 
 lost. 
 
 ' The hottest furnace here below is but as smoke in 
 comparison with hell-fire, — a fire which is always 
 burning the condemned souls. 
 
 ' It would be far better to be burning in a fur- 
 nace until the end of the world than to be tormented 
 for a short hour in hell ! 
 
 ' As maddened dogs they cry, and know not where 
 to flee. 
 
 ' Flames everywhere, over their heads, under their 
 feet ; flames on all sides which burn for ever without 
 consuming ! 
 
 ' After having been left for some time in the flames, 
 they will be plunged by Satan into an icy lake, and 
 from the icy lake into the flames ; from the flames 
 into the water again, as a bar of iron in the forge. 
 
 ' Then will they cry, and call out bitterly : 
 
 ' " Have pity, O God, have pity on us !" ' 
 
 ' But it will be in vain that they cry, for so long as 
 God exists, so long will their torments and sufferings 
 endure.'* 
 
 * From the ' Barzaz Breiz,' translated into French by 
 ^Monsieur de la Villemarque.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 1 79 
 
 An hour afterwards, as Renee, the 
 €hevalier and Rohan were once more at 
 the Chateau, thankful to be all together 
 again, the comte asked : 
 
 ' And were you successful in advising 
 our people, children ? Did they listen to 
 your voice?' 
 
 ' Uncle,' said Renee, softly, looking up 
 to him with her wonted attitude when in 
 earnest, her two hands folded low before 
 her, her face grave and thoughtful, ' uncle, 
 tell me again that God is a merciful God.' 
 
 ^ Dearest, what is it ? you look sad and 
 harassed.' 
 
 ' I feel a pain there,' she murmured, 
 putting her hand to her heart, ' a pain and 
 a great fear. Oh, that we could save 
 those we love from fear and sorrow and 
 pain ! Oh, that we could be sure of their 
 eternal bliss ! Then slipping down on her 
 knees, and hiding her face on her aunt's 
 
 N 2
 
 180 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 shoulder, ' I would give my life this 
 moment, every hour of my happiness for 
 you all — you I love, every one of you !' 
 
 And she burst into tears. 
 
 ' Renee, my darling ! This day of emo- 
 tions has been too much for you. Come, 
 love, come with me and rest. Child ! God 
 is ever merciful towards those that love 
 him.' 
 
 And the comtesse, raising her niece 
 sobbing in her arms, tried to soothe her 
 overwrought imagination and feelings ; — 
 the weak comfortino; the strono;. And the 
 young girl felt this, and, making a great 
 effort to recover herself, smiled bravely 
 through her tears. 
 
 ' Forgive me,' she said, ' I am afraid I 
 forgot myself-— a great wave of sorrow 
 rushed over my heart and overwhelmed 
 me for a moment. Perhaps,' she added, 
 looking up lovingly at her fiance^ ' perhaps
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 181 
 
 it is that we had been so happy all day, and 
 
 the contrast, when brought into contact 
 
 with the stern side of life, was so great. 
 
 You all forgive me ?' 
 
 Her uncle, taking her two hands in his 
 
 and kissing her forehead, said cheerfully 
 
 to her : 
 
 ' Child, at your age there should be 
 
 none of those faintings of the soul ; life is 
 full of promises of joy for you ; and our 
 joy, the joy of those who, like us, have 
 lived beyond their youth, is to share their 
 child's joy. Do not allow your sad thoughts 
 to rob us of our dearest delight.' 
 
 She pressed his hands gratefully in hers, 
 and murmured : 
 
 ' You are good and kind like the dear 
 father I have lost !' And tears of gratitude 
 seemed ready to follow; but a courage- 
 ous smile chased them away. 'You are 
 right; whenever I feel sad I will think
 
 182 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 of you all ; and, thanking God for so 
 much love, how can I but be happy and 
 joyful?'
 
 183 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The next day was splendid, and in the 
 early morning everything lay bathed in a 
 golden haze of light. Certainly, if men 
 had set apart this day for trouble and 
 fighting, nature was not in sympathy with 
 them, for the greatest calm pervaded sea, 
 and earth, and sky. — How often in our life 
 have we reproached nature for being care- 
 less of our pains and unsympathetic, and 
 yet how many a time has sorrow been 
 lightened and failing strength renewed 
 under the influence of a beautiful sky; 
 how many a time has the refreshing breeze
 
 184 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 inspired the tremblinoj with courage ; how 
 many a time has a glorious sunset lifted 
 up our souls, even beyond the lost joys 
 we grieve over, to a boundless hope in the 
 unknown ! 
 
 We would have nature weep when we 
 weep, — but there are so many Avho then are 
 rejoicing ! Rather let us all agree that a 
 beautiful day is a delight man at all times 
 ought to prize and be grateful for. 
 
 The inhabitants of Kerguennec met 
 together with happy looks of hope and 
 resolution ; each rejoicing in the morn- 
 ino-'s orladness, and meetino; with welcome 
 greetings from the others. 
 
 The four gentlemen, all animated with 
 the same desire for peace, determined to 
 go out early to see the villagers ; persuasion 
 and example would surely bear fruit. 
 Renee wanted to go also, wanted to ride 
 out with them ; the freshness of the day
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 185 
 
 urged Iier on to activity, and her affection 
 for them all prompted her not to part from 
 them. But there was her aunt, looking so 
 delicate, though with a smile of satisfac- 
 tion on her lips at seeing her niece herself 
 again, — her aunt, always so glad to have 
 her near ; so she conquered the longing, 
 arranged the cushions for her on the easy- 
 chair, caressed her, and spoke soothingly 
 to her. The chevalier knew, and so did 
 Rohan, how she longed to be on horse- 
 back with them, but her self-denial was 
 precious to them, even dearer than their 
 own pleasure at having her with them. 
 
 The comte determined to find out the 
 cure's brother, for he felt that in him was 
 centred all the obstinacy and rebellion 
 which animated the rest. Loik once made 
 sure of, there was no hope of resistance 
 left for the others. But Loik was nowhere 
 to be found.
 
 186 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Altliougli the comte was loved, the 
 villagers knew that he had advised their 
 cure to leave them, and they were angry. 
 They knew now that, if he wanted to see 
 Loik, it would be to try to dissuade him 
 from the course they had finally adopted ; 
 therefore was Loik nowhere to be found. 
 The cure was also in hiding. The comte 
 went to Juan Brevelaye, their father, 
 but there he Avas met with the same argu- 
 ments that his niece had met with the 
 evening before. 
 
 ' So you will not tell me where either 
 of your sons are ?' he asked him, on going 
 away. 
 
 ' I am not one to interfere with the 
 ways and will of the man of God,' he 
 replied. 
 
 At that moment a stir was heard from 
 one of the beds, and Loik himself 
 appeared.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 187 
 
 ' Loik ! you Avere liere all the time ?' 
 exclaimed the comte. 
 
 ' I have been sleeping, master.' 
 
 The comte looked at him ; his eyes were 
 wonderfully bright for a man just out of 
 sleep. 
 
 ' Then you have not heard what I said 
 to your father?' 
 
 ' May be I have, and may be I have not, 
 master ; you and yours in times past have 
 not always preached submission to us poor 
 people.' 
 
 ' As far as I am personally concerned, I 
 never had any occasion to ask you to fight, 
 nor to resist the authority set over us. 
 As to the past, we seigneurs of the land 
 struggled for our interests, and for yours,, 
 so mixed with ours. But I see no good 
 that can come of resistance now ; we have 
 not the means.'
 
 188 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Loik looked at Mm in a half cunning 
 
 way, and said 
 
 ' Union is strength, master.' 
 
 ' Union ! What can you mean ? Union 
 with whom?' 
 
 What did this common villager mean to 
 imply ? Was he also in communication with 
 the gentilshommes who had emigrated and 
 who were now trying to find allies in 
 France ? He himself had been asked to 
 help ; asked if he could raise troops suppos- 
 ing England lent her help, so that the 
 emigres could land in Brittany and find 
 themselves at the head of an army. But 
 he had not given a second thought to the 
 matter; he desired neither to emigrate 
 nor to fight, but to avoid all kind of 
 disorder if possible. Had Loik heard from 
 those abroad? he asked himself. So he 
 rei:)eated : 
 
 ' Union — with whom ? Union between
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. 189' 
 
 US cannot be, I had rather leave France 
 than fiofht.' 
 
 ' So others have done before you, master, 
 and may be they are sorry they did so. 
 The peasant now is forsaken by those he 
 used to help. But even so can the peasant 
 resist.' 
 
 . ' This is folly, Loik ; you will bring 
 upon us a mass of reckless soldiers, and 
 all the miseries civil war entails. Better 
 remain quiet.' 
 
 ' Yes, after we have obtained what we 
 want, Ave will.' 
 
 ' And that is ?' 
 
 ' Not much : to be left alone with our 
 noble count, and our holy priest. And if 
 we are victorious they will have to leave 
 us alone.' 
 
 ' If you are victorious ! Are you then 
 all this time organizing war, war against 
 your own brethren of France, and that too
 
 190 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 without arms, witliout ammunition, with- 
 out chief?' 
 
 ^ If our natural chiefs leave us, we must 
 even find some among ourselves ! But 
 may be, all will not be like you. May be, 
 some will be found.' 
 
 ' And deeply wrong would they be who, 
 with eyes opened to what must be the end 
 of such a struggle, dare to encourage you 
 to begin it.' 
 
 ' But may be, more than ourselves will 
 fight.' 
 
 * I cannot understand you ; speak plainly 
 and let me know what it is you are 
 doing.' 
 
 ' Master, you are no longer our friend ; T 
 will not betray those who are.' 
 
 The comte looked at him. 
 
 ' Are you the only peasants going to 
 resist ?'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 191 
 
 ' That will be as tlie Lord wills,' replied 
 the other. 
 
 ^Tell me the truth, Loik ; — are you, or 
 are you not planning anything with your 
 friends of the other villages ?' 
 
 ' Would vou lead us if we are ?' 
 
 ' No ! I will not ; I have said it ; I had 
 rather leave France as others have done 
 than undertake such murderous and use- 
 less work.' 
 
 ' Leave France, master, for you it will 
 perhaps be better.' 
 
 ' Where is your brother?' 
 
 ' That is not my secret, and I have no 
 right to tell. Some there are who, without 
 strong castles like yours, have offered their 
 persecuted priest shelter ; but you, master, 
 you neither shelter our persecuted priest, 
 nor ^vill you help us to save him from 
 death. That is not as it should be ; that is
 
 192 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 not as it used to be of old between the 
 seigneur, the peasant, and the Lord's 
 anointed.' 
 
 The comte had not thouo;ht of offerino; 
 any refuge to Monsieur Brevelaye, knowing 
 how well he could depend on his brother 
 and on the love of his parishioners ; but 
 the reproach of Loik made him feel that 
 perhaps he had been remiss. He certainly 
 knew of the danger of sheltering the priests 
 who had not taken the oath to the Republic ; 
 but fear was not in his nature. He could 
 have hesitated to do it for the sake of his 
 wife and his niece ; but these he could send 
 away. Having suddenly got the matter 
 clearly before his mind, he said : 
 
 ' If I offered him refuge, w^ould you 
 submit ?' 
 
 Loik looked at him awhile, then at his 
 father, and replied : 
 
 'Master, I thank you. You might
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 193 
 
 run some danger yourself in doing so/ 
 ' 1 know it — as much danger even as 
 your brother — yet I offer him refuge if 
 you will relinquish your plans of resis- 
 tance.' 
 
 ' Thank you, master, thank you ; nobody 
 need know of my brother's retreat, and 
 your life need not be endangered, but I 
 am glad of the leave you give me. You 
 will not be angry now to hear that there 
 are certain old places in the ruins of the 
 Chateau where he can hide without coming 
 in contact with you.' And Loik looked at 
 the comte with his stern, cunning look. 
 
 * How long have you been thinking of 
 this ?' asked the comte. 
 
 ' Does not master know of the j)assage 
 to the sea and the " Threshold of Death " V 
 The comte started. 
 ' Do you know of that passage?' 
 ^ Truly, master, your father and mine 
 VOL. I. o
 
 ] 94 ■ A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 played in it many a time. What do you 
 say, father?' 
 
 ' Ay ! ay ! and many a time in the 
 room that shakes with the blows of the 
 waves, and no wonder, no wonder it 
 shakes !' 
 
 ^Is your brother there now?' 
 
 ' He was there yesterday ; he is wanted 
 elsewhere now.' 
 
 An angry frown came on the comte's 
 face. 
 
 ' You scarcely had a right to come thus 
 to my place,' he said, coldly. 
 
 ' The hunted hare will rush to any hole 
 he thinks safe,' replied Lo'ik. 
 
 ' Have you the secret of the door, then ?' 
 the comte asked, unwilling to show his 
 own ignorance of it. 
 
 ' I have.' 
 
 ' And have you used it ?' 
 
 ' It can be used as a way of escape ; for
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 195 
 
 the waves have withdrawn some way below 
 the cave. It is a perfectly safe place for 
 hiding.' 
 
 The comte thought a while, and then 
 said, 
 
 ' Will you do what I ask you, cease to 
 resist the decrees sent against your priest, 
 if I offer him a frank hospitality till he 
 can go abroad ? I am willing to run this 
 risk of death myself, if you accept my 
 conditions.' 
 
 ' Master ' 
 
 ' You hesitate. Is not the risking of 
 my life, and, possibly, of all dear to me, 
 enough to satisfy you ?' 
 
 ' Master, you are truly kind, but — but 
 it is too late.' 
 
 ' Too late for what ?' 
 
 ' The villagers of another parish have 
 risen.' 
 
 'Which village? What will they do?' 
 
 o2
 
 196 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 * I am not at liberty to say.' 
 
 ' Then you have detained me here all 
 this time to keep me away from the others/ 
 said the comte, angrily. ' Take care I do 
 not punish you for this.' 
 
 ' If our master will not lead us, we will 
 even lead ourselves,' stubbornly replied 
 Lo'ik. ' We will be our own masters, and 
 fight without our betters.' 
 
 ' And soon turn against them, no doubt,' 
 exclaimed the comte, still in anger. 
 
 ' Never ! unless they first turn against 
 us.' 
 
 ^You are not a Republican, Lo'ik, and 
 would be angry, if I called you one ; yet 
 you have all the independence of the Repub- 
 licans ; and also their forgetfulness of what 
 is due to those above them.' 
 
 ' Monsieur le Comte, we would die for 
 you — one and all die for you, as we hope
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 197 
 
 to prove. — " Our God, our Priest, and 
 our Seigneur," is our motto.' 
 
 The comte left tlie cottage angry and 
 irresolute. At the door he found the 
 Chevalier de Valvourgs, whom he had left 
 there with Rohan de Carnoet, to wait for 
 him. The chevalier told him that Rohan 
 had heard of something going on in the 
 next parish, and had gone there. They 
 set spurs to their horses, and galloped 
 away. 
 
 The comte knew now that a rising was 
 certain ; that perhaps there was fighting at 
 that very moment, and he regretted that 
 his wife and niece were still at Kerguennec. 
 This was the first moment of fear he had 
 really experienced as yet. To all the 
 horrors going on in France he had as it 
 were shut his eyes, believing it best to 
 remain quiet and silent ; but now danger
 
 198 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 was encompassing him even in liis own 
 home. Unconsciously he had sheltered 
 the disturber of their peace, for, if it was 
 true that spies Avere about the village, 
 it all depended now on their discovering 
 the priest's retreat, for the quiet life at 
 the Chateau to be at an end. He de- 
 termined at once to send his wife and 
 
 niece away, for the Marquis cle L 
 
 had asked them already to come to his 
 place, where all was as yet quiet, thanks 
 to the priest there having emigrated, and 
 to the prkre assermente who had taken his 
 place being satisfied with the very few 
 people he called his flock. 
 
 They had gone some distance when they 
 heard the report of fire-arms, and hurried 
 forward. Soon from a high plateau they 
 saw what was going on — a hand to hand 
 fight between soldiers and peasants. The
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 199 
 
 peasants, armed with pitchfork, scythe, or 
 pen-hach,^ had rushed on the soldiers who, 
 unable now to fire, were using the butt 
 ends of their guns. To the surprise of 
 
 the comte, both the Marquis de L 
 
 and Rohan de Carnoet seemed mixed up 
 in the fight. 
 
 They rushed on and reached the fight- 
 ing parties just as the officer was calling 
 out in a rage to Rohan, 
 
 ' Who are you, thus to have interfered ?' 
 
 'You are our prisoner,' replied Rohan, 
 calmly, ' and I need not answer you unless 
 I like. But my name you shall hear; it is 
 Rohan de Carnoet.' 
 
 ' Ah ! a traitor's name,' the officer 
 exclaimed. 
 
 ' The name of a hero, a true hero,' re- 
 j)lied Rohan quickly, raising his hat in 
 
 * Stick V ith a heavy knob at the end.
 
 200 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 reverence of the dead. All the peasants 
 clustered round him, and, raising their hats 
 as he had done, of a common accord cried 
 out, 
 
 '- A hero ! a Breton ! Long live Monsieur 
 de Carnoet our chief! Long live Monsieur 
 de Carnoet!' 
 
 * Take all these men's guns away,' said 
 Rohan, ' and let them go.' 
 
 * But, master ' 
 
 ' What ? What have you to say ?' 
 
 ' Would it not be better to — clear the 
 earth of them?' 
 
 ' No, no. By heaven, no ! Let them 
 go ! — Ah, comte, you here too ?' 
 
 ' What are you doing ? What has 
 happened?' 
 
 ' Comte — marquis — comte.' growled the 
 soldiers. ' Ah ! ah ! We have fought in 
 France against the nobles, and thought they
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 201 
 
 Avere all dead or gone ; and here they grow 
 as thick as berries on a bush.' 
 
 ' Wait a while,' replied another, ^ wait a 
 while, we shall have our turn yet.' 
 
 All the guns having passed from the 
 soldiers' to the peasants' hands, Rohan said, 
 
 ' Now go, and, believe me, leave us in 
 peace in future.' 
 
 ' We will see,' the officer murmured. 
 
 ' Give them something to eat or drink, 
 before they go,' said the conite, ' there are 
 many wounded among them.' 
 
 ' There are some wounded among ours,' 
 replied Rohan, ' and a few dead, I fear. 
 You who are too bad to go back may stop 
 behind : we will take care of you,' he added, 
 speaking to the soldiers. 
 
 Some had serious wounds and could 
 scarcely stand, but their companions de- 
 termined to help them on as well as
 
 202 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 they could, and not to leave them behind. 
 The two priests who were with them, 
 pale and faint and dreadfully excited, 
 refused to stay. The peasants looked 
 darkly after them and said among them- 
 selves that they were only so many 
 vipers who ought to have been crushed to 
 death. 
 
 The comte and his companions went 
 further on to where the battle had begun, 
 and found two dead bodies — a soldier and 
 a peasant — and two or three men besides, 
 badly wounded. They were removed to 
 their homes, while the remaining peasants 
 came round Rohan again and said : 
 
 ' Master, we will keep these guns for our 
 own defence.' 
 
 ' You won them ; they are yours, but 
 beware how you use them. Now you 
 have brought the anger of the Bleus upon 
 us, we scarcely know what to expect.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 205 
 
 ' Master,' an old man cried, ' as long as 
 they have brave gentlemen like you at 
 their head the gars will be brave too and 
 win.' 
 
 And the others went on : 
 
 ' AVe are yours for ever ; for ever now I 
 You have saved us all ; we will fight under 
 your orders when you will. We are only 
 too thankful to be under you. Monsieur 
 de Carnoet.' 
 
 All this was said without tumult, but 
 with the stern determination of men 
 resolved to risk everything they held 
 dear. 
 
 ' You mistake my position, my good 
 friends,' Rohan replied, 'you know that it 
 was a mere chance my being here at that 
 moment, and that I was not at your head 
 at all.' 
 
 ' But you are now, master ; you cannot 
 go back now ; you must side with us.'
 
 204 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I will neither side witli you nor with 
 them. I do not want to have anything to do 
 with such outbreaks ; it was fortunate for 
 you I came, since it gave you courage, but 
 beyond that. I have done nothing to 
 deserve your approval and occupy such a 
 post as you would give me. Understand 
 me, I do not wish to mix up in any of 
 those matters, l^ow good-bye, friends, we 
 will laugh some day over this fight, I 
 have no doubt ; but for the present it is 
 very serious.' 
 
 ' Good-bye, master, you may say yon 
 refuse to be our captain, but we know 
 better ; we know that when we are in 
 danger we shall find you ready. That's 
 how we understand your "good-bye," Mon- 
 sieur de Carnoet.' 
 
 ' You make a great mistake, a great mis- 
 take ! I cannot say too often that I 
 will not fight at your head nor anywhere
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 205' 
 
 else. But now 2:0 and take care of your 
 
 & 
 
 T 
 
 poor wounded comrades.' 
 
 The peasants said no more, but, stopping 
 where they were, looked at the four gentle- 
 men riding slowly away. 
 
 ' We shall know where to find him,' they 
 said comfortably to each other, ' we shall 
 know, and he will come. Is he not a 
 Carnoet ?' 
 
 Meanwhile the comte was pressings 
 Rohan to tell him what had taken place. 
 
 ' While I am using all my influence to 
 bring peaceful ideas about, I find you 
 fighting ; what can have made you do 
 such a thing?' 
 
 Rohan smiled sadly and said, 
 
 ' I am glad the marquis was with me ; 
 he will tell you how my peaceful notions 
 Avere all scattered in a moment to the 
 winds. I expect, comte, you would have 
 done the same. As I rushed on here after
 
 206 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 having been told that this parish would not 
 accept their new priest, and were resolved 
 to hght, I heard great cries and a good 
 deal of firing, and from the hill I saw the 
 peasants giving way, and felt they would 
 be massacred to the last man. You know, 
 comte, it is hard at such a moment to 
 calculate consequences. The two groups 
 were distinct ; — they were to me like the 
 past and present world brought face to 
 face. In an instant I found myself at the 
 head of the running away villagers. I can 
 scarcely understand it now,' he went on 
 quietly. ' I galloped down the hill towards 
 the soldiers, and the villagers turned and 
 followed my horse and rushed on the 
 Bleus, and before they had had time to 
 fire again, the peasants were upon them, 
 fighting as surely men never fought 
 before. It was rather a tough battle, 
 for the soldiers are all trained men. But
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 207 
 
 you saw the end — we had just finished as 
 you came. Some of your tenants were 
 countenancing and helping the others.' 
 
 ' And you had no arms yourself?' 
 
 ' Oh, dear no, only this !' and he cut 
 the air with his riding-whip. ' I don't 
 think I touched anybody even with this, 
 but I daresay I looked like some great 
 soldier brandishing his sword,' he added, 
 laughing. 
 
 * And you, De L , you did not fight 
 
 either, did you?' asked the comte, 
 gravely. 
 
 ' No, I looked on ; there was no call 
 for me to do so ; they all managed very 
 well and quickly enough, I can tell you. 
 Rohan was quite a hero.' 
 
 Strong men will always enjoy a fair 
 fight, and it was amusing no doubt to 
 think of those peasants without guns 
 putting to flight soldiers in uniform,
 
 208 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 and well armed ; particularly as the right 
 was decidedly on the side of the peasants , 
 according to the view of the matter held 
 by the gentilsJiommes.' 
 
 But still the comte looked very 
 thoughtful. 
 
 ' We shall have trouble,' he said. 
 
 'But why fear, comte ? I have no 
 doubt we can hold our own against some 
 scores of soldiers at a time ; and they will 
 never send more about such a paltry busi- 
 ness. I believe the government will leave 
 us quiet now.' 
 
 ' My dear Rohan, the villagers are right, 
 you have become their chief, Avhatever 
 you may say to the contrary ; — you are so 
 in heart now, and they are cunning enough 
 to see it, and they rely on you.' 
 
 ' You invited me, marquis, to Ploermel, 
 will you have me still ? If so, I will go 
 at once, and show the comte and all my
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 209 
 
 clear friends.yoncler that I will not allow 
 myself to get entangled in their broils.' 
 
 ' Yes, you had better come to Ploermel, 
 for we are quiet there now", at all events. 
 I should advise you all to come, and leave 
 those obstinate people to their fate.' 
 
 ' No,' replied the comte, ' I do not think 
 that would be right. I will stop behind ; 
 but, if you will take the comtesse and 
 Renee, I shall be glad.' 
 
 ' Very well, that is settled ; the house- 
 hold of Kerguennec shall sleep this Aveek 
 at Ploermel. Let us hope, comte, you 
 will not miss us too much.' 
 
 ' I shall miss you very much ; but I will 
 join you as soon as I feel sure there is no 
 more mischief on foot here.' 
 
 ' But,' exclaimed De Valvourgs, ' what 
 shall we tell the ladies — that we bring 
 back a victorious general ; or shall we 
 say nothing ?' 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' It would come out piece-meal,' replied 
 the comte. ' You will be the first to tell 
 Renee about it ; — better have it all out at 
 once, and enjoy the comic part of our 
 position as long as we can. The tragic 
 will not delay, I fear.' 
 
 So it was agreed that nothing should be 
 kept from those at home, but Rohan grew 
 serious in proportion as De Valvourgs 
 grew elated at the prospect of having such 
 a thing to relate. 
 
 ' Don't you think, comte, after all, that 
 it might frighten the comtesse?' he re- 
 marked. ' Would it not be better to say 
 nothino; ?' 
 
 ' My dear Rohan, your warlike looks 
 would betray you.' 
 
 As they talked, and went on slowly and 
 leisurely, they reached the village of Ker- 
 guennec some time after the fight had 
 taken place, but, to their surprise, found
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 211 
 
 every man, woman, and child out of doors, 
 expecting them, and they were greeted 
 with cries of: 
 
 ' Good-morning, good-morning. Monsieur 
 de Carnoet; good-morning, Monsieur de 
 Carnoet !' 
 
 ' Good-morning, good people,' he replied. 
 ' You are all looking terribly idle ; what 
 is the matter with you ?' 
 
 But he soon knew that the adventure 
 was already all over the place, and that 
 his passage through the village was to be 
 an ovation. 
 
 ' You may have to pay dearly for this,' 
 said the comte. 
 
 ^ Never fear, all will blow over, and 
 my glory be soon forgotten, believe me.' 
 
 ' Rohan, I consider you so compromised 
 now that I see nothing for you in case 
 of war but to leave the country or to 
 
 fight.' 
 
 p2
 
 212 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I will fight then/ 
 
 ' And we all started a few hours back 
 with the intention of forcing the peasants 
 to be quiet,' said the comte, sadly. ^ We 
 have indeed kept to our plan.' 
 
 As they approached the Chateau, they 
 met the cure and his brother. The gentle- 
 men raised their hats, and were going to 
 pass on without speaking when the cure 
 stopped them. 
 
 ^ Monsieur Rohan,' he said, ' allow me to 
 thank you most earnestly for the help you 
 gave those men, who would perhaps have 
 perished to the last man but for you. God 
 will reward you. We know now that some 
 among you gentlemen feel for us.' 
 
 ' Don't take it so seriously, Monsieur le 
 Cure ; I saw a fight and I rushed to the 
 rescue of the weakest ; perhaps if it had 
 been the Bleus I might have helped 
 them.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 213 
 
 ' That — never !' said the cure, cahn and 
 unmoved. ' Your name is that of a Breton 
 gentleman.' 
 
 ^ Well, I have heard plenty about my 
 name to-day ; but all I mean is that I did 
 not purposely go to the rescue, and that 
 you owe me no thanks — neither you nor 
 anybody else. Good-morning, Monsieur le 
 Cure.' 
 
 ^ Good-morning, sir,' answered the other, 
 more gravely still. 
 
 On reaching the cour-cVhonneur they saw 
 Renee watching anxiously for them. 
 
 ' Not much use to try to hide your 
 grand doings, De Carnoet ; they know all 
 about them at the Chateau,' said De 
 Valvourgs. 
 
 And they did. Renee came quickly to 
 them with outstretched hands. 
 
 ' Tell me, tell me. Monsieur Rohan, 
 what it is you have done ?'
 
 214 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Covered himself with glory,' replied De 
 Valvourgs. 
 
 Then they went to the drawing-room 
 and heard that Monsieur Brevelaye had 
 just related everything. 
 
 ' How very indiscreet of him,' exclaimed 
 the chevalier. ' But he was not there, 
 nor was his brother, and they can scarcely 
 know the truth like eye-witnesses would. 
 Therefore I pray you listen to me.' 
 
 'But neither were you an eye-witness,' 
 the others exclaimed. ' So you also are 
 unable to tell the truth.' 
 
 Thus, half in laughter and half seriously, 
 the event of the morning was related. It 
 was not mentioned that there were at 
 least two men dead, and that blood had 
 flowed freely, for they were determined to 
 make light of the matter. Yet in one 
 bosom, at least, they could not still the
 
 A_BRETON MAIDEN. 215 
 
 fears such an event gave rise to. That 
 Rohan had behaved and would always 
 behave like a hero, Renee de Kerguennec 
 felt sure ; but who could tell if this was 
 not the prelude of many other such 
 struggles? Who could say what the end 
 would be ? 
 
 'Tell me frankly, was there nobody 
 wounded? Not one man? Tell me the 
 truth !' she added, affecting to laugh, and 
 threatening him with her finger. 
 
 ' There were two or three wounded.' 
 
 * Any dead ?' 
 
 ' Why should you care to know ? It 
 can do no good.' 
 
 ' Only that I like to know things 
 exactly. You can tell me the truth ; you 
 were an eye-witness, were you not ?' and 
 she smiled as she looked at him. 
 
 ' It will trouble you, I fear, to know that 
 there may be one or two.'
 
 216 A BRETOX MAI»EN. 
 
 ' One or two dead ? No more ? Are 
 you quite sure ?' 
 
 ' No, I believe not.' 
 
 ' Thank you,' she said, and all her af- 
 fected gaiety was gone ; though she tried 
 hard to hide her feelings from him. 
 
 ' Do you blame me for having helped 
 our poor peasants ?' he asked. 
 
 ' Blame you ! You know I would have 
 done the same, although I am but a 
 woman.' 
 
 ' And they would have obeyed you, as 
 their forefathers obeyed another brave 
 woman once.' 
 
 'Then, why do you speak slightingly of 
 what you did this morning ? There can- 
 not be two measures ; if you were not 
 brave this morning, neither could I be,' she 
 added, with her quiet smile. 
 
 ' But it is the duty of man to iight, and 
 lead to fight.'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 217 
 
 ' And the duty of woman to look on, 
 you will add.' 
 
 ' So the world would say.' 
 
 ' And so we do, we poor things born to 
 submit and to obey ! But, Monsieur Rohan, 
 tell me, is it really true that you do not 
 mean to mix in such matters T 
 
 ' Perfectly true. I have not the slight- 
 est intention of becoming a knight-errant, 
 seeking to redress the wrongs of the 
 world.' 
 
 She looked at him, and then said, 
 gravely : 
 
 ' If what my uncle fears happens ; if our 
 people unite and fight against the govern- 
 ment, I suppose we shall see dreadful 
 things. What will our place be in such a 
 case ? What ought we to do ? Tell me 
 what your ideas are ?' 
 
 And Rohan, unconscious of the perfect 
 confidence that existed betAveen them, and
 
 218 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 thinking it was only because they Avere 
 both Bretons that their thoughts ran in the 
 same channel, replied simply : 
 
 ' I cannot help thinking of it, and 
 wondering what we ought to do. But, 
 to tell you the truth, what happened 
 this morning, took me by surprise. No 
 one was less prepared to lead men to 
 tight than 1 was when I left you, and yet 
 I find myself now in a position which may 
 influence my whole life.' 
 
 'But you say, you will not fight — will 
 not lead our peasants to fight ?' 
 
 ' Would you wish me to do so ; and do 
 you think it would be right ?' 
 
 ' I — I do not know what is right or 
 wrong in such a case, except — except that, 
 if we saw those poor people being butcher- 
 ed by soldiers, I think we could not remain 
 idle.' 
 
 ' No, we could not remain idle. It is
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 219' 
 
 what happened to me this morning. So I 
 suppose we must leave it to the future to 
 decide what my duty is.' 
 
 ' I fear it must be so. But, if there is 
 lighting, I feel sure you will be there in 
 spite of all you say.' 
 
 ' So everyone seems to think,' said Rohan y 
 gravely enough now. 
 
 ' You believe it yourself, you see. Oh ! 
 it is hard to have trouble brought to one 
 so, is it not, when one has done nothing to 
 deserve it ? I shall not have a moment's 
 peace now, if there is any sign of the 
 struggle going on.' 
 
 ' But why should you trouble so about 
 it ? The chevalier is not a Breton, and 
 has nothing to do with our domestic 
 troubles ; he will remain by you.' 
 
 ' Yes,' she replied, thoughtfully, ^ unless 
 he prefers joining you also, and — and who 
 knows ? Two men killed to-day, do you
 
 220 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 say? Is it not a dreadful thing to think 
 of losing thus suddenly those we love ! 
 It is strange, but I have grown fearful 
 since the last few hours. We heard so 
 much about those murders in Paris and 
 yet I felt unmoved, while to-day, because 
 of a small struggle — I suppose it was be- 
 cause of my knowing some of those con- 
 cerned in it — I feel so very sorry for the 
 poor people. Yes, I fancy that you would 
 
 be found with them if — if Well, I 
 
 must not think of this any more. Let us 
 have some music, I fear I am going to be 
 as foolish as I was last night ! — Your dear 
 mother, just try to fancy her sorrow and 
 grief! — But no, no, I must not go on 
 thinking of such things. — Ah, chevalier,' 
 she said, going towards her fiance, wdio 
 had just appeared, ' we are going to sing; 
 will you come ?'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 221 
 
 ' Certainly, Where you are, there shall 
 men iind me always, I trust.' 
 
 And so Renee played and sang, and 
 the day passed happily at the Chateau. 
 Yet in the evening alone in her room she 
 threw herself down on her knees and once 
 more repeated to herself, 
 
 ' I would die — I would die willingly 
 for them all. Lord, grant there may be 
 no more blood shed in our peaceful land, 
 no war, no death — no death of those we 
 love.'
 
 222 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ' At my seat near Ploermel, if you come 
 with me, you will be at peace. Xo one will 
 molest you there. The authorities cannot 
 help mixinoj you up with this affair, seeing 
 the Carnoets are now residing with you ; 
 but you will take away all occasion of 
 offence by removing at once from the scene 
 of the affray.' 
 
 ' I believe you are right,' the comte 
 replied. 
 
 For himself, personally, he had little fear, 
 but, devotedly attached to his invalid wife, 
 he dreaded anything that might endanger
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 223 
 
 her peace. So, having once accepted 
 
 the invitation of the Marquis cle L 
 
 for her, he was easily prevailed upon to 
 accompany her, and having gone through 
 the task of hiding their more precious 
 treasures, as every noble house was obliged 
 to do in those days of license and of rage 
 against the rich, the whole party went to 
 Ploermel. 
 
 The distance was serious enouo-h for the 
 comtesse, and many were the halts made. 
 They had passed Scaer and were nearing 
 Jcsselin when they were arrested by the 
 most unex]3ected sight. 
 
 An immense concourse of people were 
 pressing forward to a given point, 
 and the dreary solitudes of the Landes 
 were being animated by thousands of 
 human beings. The homharde^ and the 
 bigjioicf were heard above the talking and 
 
 * A kind of clarionet. f Small bag-pipes.
 
 224 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 noise of these many men, women, and 
 children. All were in holiday attire, and 
 dressed according to their particular ])ays^ 
 or parish ; Leon and Treguier, Vannes and 
 Cornouaille, and many other places were 
 represented by their different costumes. 
 
 The women, with their snowy white 
 caps of all shapes and sizes, first attracted 
 attention. Almost all wore the open 
 bodice with embroidered and lace chemi- 
 settes underneath ; to this some added an 
 immense white collar wonderfully plaited, 
 and falling low on the shoulders. The 
 scarlet dresses worn by many contrasted 
 with the deep black ones trimmed with 
 black velvet, and with wide, open sleeves 
 worn by others. The Avhole costume of 
 the latter was nun-like in appearance, even 
 to the hood. All the marriao:eable o^irls had 
 their skirts trimmed with thick silver or 
 gold braid, each row representing so much
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 225 
 
 money a year — their marriage-portion. 
 One and all had thick gold crosses round 
 their necks. 
 
 Gorgeous and striking was the sight, 
 for the men's costumes were in keeping 
 Avith those of the women. Most of them 
 wore a large wideawake, like the sombrero 
 of the Spaniards, with a woollen or velvet 
 cord of many colours twisted round and 
 round the crown. Others had smaller 
 hats, similarly trimmed round the crown 
 and bordered with black velvet, but with 
 the ends, also of velvet, hanging behind 
 — much like those on our children's hats. 
 All had long, flowing hair. 
 
 Some had long square coats like those 
 worn by the older noblemen at Court, 
 but with three rows on each side down 
 to the waist, of brilliant and closely 
 sewn buttons. Underneath was the deep 
 black velvet waistcoat. Others Avore 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 the round coat and the thick white 
 woollen waistcoat falling below the hips 
 and richly embroidered ; this also was 
 adorned with buttons. All wore the 
 wide Gaelic breeches held up by a belt 
 wuth an ornamental clasp, or by a brilliant 
 red or blue sash four or five yards long 
 wound round and round the waist. Orna- 
 mental gaiters and shoes with buckles, 
 completed these most picturesque cos- 
 tumes. 
 
 It was a motley crowd and glorious, as it 
 hurried through narrow roads deep and 
 low between strongly built embankments 
 of beaten earth crowned by huge hedges — 
 those future fortresses against the Repub- 
 licans that were so soon to invade the 
 country — or flocked within the fields along 
 the small paths close to the hedges. 
 
 ' They are going to the Soule^' exclaimed
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 227 
 
 the marquis, joyfully. ' I had forgotten it, 
 chevalier ; you come at the right moment. 
 No such national games can you boast of 
 in the South, I know !' 
 
 ' In the South we sing,' the chevalier 
 replied, laughing, ' and that is everything 
 to us.' 
 
 ' And here we wTestle and fight, and in 
 good earnest too, as you will see. Comtesse, 
 can you bear the sight ?' 
 
 ' I fear not ; not to the end.' 
 
 ' But we will try to avoid the end ; and no 
 doubt by remaining here in your carriage 
 you will. It is a good place which com- 
 mands many roads, and you will have a 
 first-rate y'iqw of the start at least.' 
 
 ' Oh ! aunt, let us stay.' 
 
 ' There is no reason why you young- 
 people should not,' replied the comtesse, 
 ^ even if I go away, but I will stop with you
 
 228 A BliETON MxVIDEN. 
 
 here, dear child, as long as blood does 
 not flow ; that I cannot bear to see.' 
 
 'A game where blood flows !' exclahned 
 the chevalier. 
 
 ' And freely — but what do our young 
 men care ? Do they not train all the year 
 round for their wrestling, racing, and this 
 foot-ball which is the crown of everything ? 
 Wait, and you will see.' 
 
 As they were disposing themselves for a 
 good view of the game, hurrahs were 
 heard from hundreds of throats, for the 
 tenants of the marquis had caught sight 
 of the party. A strong stalwart man 
 made his way towards them, and the mar- 
 quis cried out : 
 
 ' Ah, Ivon, in for the Soule again ?' 
 
 'Yes, yes, Monsieur le Marquis, in for 
 the Soule once more before old age comes ; 
 the youngsters have always something to 
 learn from their elders about it. But,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 229 
 
 Monsieur le Marquis, I am so proud to see 
 you here ; it is as it should be. And you 
 are brino;ing us many people to the Cha- 
 teau, I hope ?' 
 
 'You are always wanting the house 
 full, Ivon ! My dear comtesse, this is 
 my head-farmer, and a terrible task-master 
 he is ! If I were to listen to him, I should 
 
 always live at L and have the place 
 
 full of people and make a great show of my 
 money.' 
 
 ' Nay, nay, master, the likes of you 
 should shine ; but as to the showing of 
 money -^ ' 
 
 ' You don't approve of that ?' 
 
 'No, Monsieur le Marquis, no, never 
 show your money.' 
 
 ' Better put it in a stocking, eh ! 
 Ivon ?' 
 
 The peasant looked at him with a sly 
 amused look.
 
 230 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 'There be some in the world who 
 would require a rare large stocking, 
 methinks.' 
 
 ' I should, you think ?' 
 
 ' Our farms are doing well, master, ver}^ 
 well, and our cattle have greatly increased.' 
 
 * Ah ! I see : you want me to praise you 
 before my cousins ?' 
 
 ' I say our farms are doino; well and 
 
 'B 
 
 ^Ye have plenty of money ; but it i& 
 yours to spend, master, and I am right 
 glad when you spend part of it here ; 
 although you can spend it wherever you 
 please.' 
 
 ' You are very generous, Ivon, very 
 generous, considering that you have all 
 the hard Avork and I all the fun.' 
 
 ' Some there be who are born to show 
 us poor folks the better things that are 
 on the earth. 'T would be a sad world,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 231 
 
 master, if there were none but peasants 
 like us everywhere.' 
 
 ' That is your view of it ? So you are 
 not like those men in Paris who would 
 destroy us altogether?' 
 
 ' Maybe they have other great things to 
 choose out of; we have only you and 
 yours, Monsieur le Marquis.' 
 
 The Marquis laughed, and said, 
 
 ' Ivon, your speech is most flattering? 
 So, if I understand you right, I must 
 make the most of myself to make you 
 happy?' 
 
 ' Yes, master ; I like to see the likes of 
 you in grand coaches, and on good 
 horses and bravely dressed. I want to 
 see your beautiful ladies with their 
 stiff silk gowns and hear their honeyed 
 words.' 
 
 'In fact, you are a born aristocrat,
 
 232 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Ivor. But, if I remember right, you 
 were always bravely dressed yourself as 
 a young fellow. Ah ! Ivon, beware of 
 vanity ! But I will do my best to please 
 you, and bring all the ladies that are 
 left in the land if they will only come. 
 You see, here is my cousin, Mademoiselle 
 de Kerguennec, who brings her fiance 
 with her.' 
 
 'Oh, mam'zelle, my congratulations! 
 Monsieur is not a Breton ?' 
 
 ' No, but as good as one, since he likes 
 a Bretonne, you see. I am glad to intro- 
 duce you to him. He has many servants 
 at his own place, but none better than 
 you, T feel sure. I hope you are increasing 
 in wealth, Ivon ?' 
 
 ' My master and Ave do that, thanks to 
 the Almighty.' 
 
 ' And thanks also to your energy and 
 cleverness, we all know that.'
 
 A BEETON MAIDEN. 233 
 
 The farmer laughed, and looking to- 
 wards the people: 
 
 ' I must go now,' he said. ^ The game 
 will soon beo^in, thous^h I am not among; 
 the first to play.' 
 
 ' I suppose not ; among the last, most 
 likely,' said the marquis. 
 
 ' Yes, master — among the last.' And 
 the man looked well pleased. 
 
 'What a character the fellow is,' the 
 marquis went on, after tlie man had left. 
 ^ You will see him looking as proud as a 
 peacock, when we have many people here, 
 for we are one family — " Our cows and our 
 horses and our farms are doing well!" 
 You should see him try to sell a cow, as 
 I did once, while some of my friends from 
 Paris were looking on. It might have 
 been as a compliment paid to me, to be 
 sure ; for the man is shrewd enough for 
 anything. But how my friends laughed !
 
 234 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ''Monsieur le Marquis and I could not sell 
 that cow for less, we really could not let 
 it go for less ! — Monsieur le Marquis and I 
 know all her good points, and at one time 
 she gave us a deal of trouble. Monsieur le 
 Marquis was telling me only this very morn- 
 ing, ' Ivon, shall we, or shall we not sell 
 that most excellent cow ? As to those 
 pigs, Ivon,' " etc., &c. Whenever any of 
 those friends see me, they are sure to ask 
 me how my fellow cowherd is doing.' 
 
 'I suppose he is truthful?' said the 
 chevalier. 
 
 ' Oh, dear yes ; and faithful from father 
 to son. I believe he could trace his pedi- 
 gree as far back as my own. His family 
 has been attached to ours for generations. 
 You should have heard him when told 
 he must not pay me any more tithes or 
 tolls, according to the new laws. He was 
 quite oiFended — " Do those people of Paris
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 235 
 
 take us for thieves, tliat we should not 
 pay our seigneur his clue ?" And I receive 
 my tithes just as in the past.' 
 
 ' Yes, so do I,' said the comte. ' But 
 how long it is to last, and how long we 
 are to keep such men attached to our 
 families under the new regime. Heaven 
 only knows ! — But the game is beginning!' 
 
 At that moment, several hundred men 
 from different parishes advanced, and formed 
 themselves into two camps. They threw 
 off their jackets, and were seen to be all more 
 or less dressed alike, — that is, with tight- 
 fitting flannels and short, tight breeches, 
 naked legs and arms, and thick shoes, and 
 even sabots^ weighing several pounds. 
 
 The winner of the last Soule was 
 repeating the rules, which may be thus 
 summarized : — 
 
 The goal was any one of the parishes
 
 236 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 of tlie players (many of them lived eiglit 
 or ten miles off). 
 
 There were no boundaries. 
 
 Scragging, tripjoing, and hacking were 
 allowed, (practically anything and every- 
 thing was permitted). 
 
 The prize was the Soule itself, to which 
 was added a black bullock. — 
 
 The players, all strong men, the flower 
 of their village, listen to the rules, their 
 piercing eyes fixed on the speaker, their 
 clenched fists and outstretched necks be- 
 traying the intensity with which they look 
 forward to the first rush. 
 
 At last the cry comes, as of old, for tour- 
 naments : 
 
 ' Lists ! Lists !' 
 
 The crowd retires to the limits of the 
 meadow ; the ball is thrown up, and the 
 mad struggle begins.
 
 A BllETON MAIDEN. 237 
 
 All the men of the same parish keep 
 well together, and are distinguished by 
 some particular sign. 
 
 For a long time the ball remains where 
 it has first fallen, so great is the crush, 
 so ardent the players ; and for a long 
 time also it seems to the lookers-on 
 as if no game were possible for that 
 day. Suddenly there is a cry, ' Ivon I 
 Ploermel !' Ivon at the head of his party 
 has 2fone head foremost ao^ainst the struo-- 
 gling group and has rushed madly away, 
 carrying the ball with him. The appar- 
 ently hopeless block is broken up at last, 
 and the whole indescribable mass starts 
 at his heels. But he is a fast runner, 
 as all who have run races with him 
 know; and he shrinks at nothing. A 
 wide stream is before him ; nothing loth 
 he jumps into it and swims across, while 
 the hundreds of players follow him, never
 
 238 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 considering whether they can swim or 
 not, and are carried over by their very 
 violence and number. 
 
 Ivon is caught at last, and retires to 
 gain strenofth for the final struo^2:le. The 
 ball is kicked back ao;ain over the stream 
 and carried this time towards a thick 
 hedge some eight or ten feet high. After 
 another dreadful scrimmage they break 
 through, their hair entangled with tAvigs 
 and leaves, their faces torn and bleeding. 
 They come to a village, rush pele-mele 
 through it, swarm round the cottages, 
 through the narrow lanes, on to a long 
 hi2:h-road. Some take short cuts and 
 fill! suddenly upon their opponents, and 
 both parties stagger at the charge. 
 Further on a terrible fight goes on ; 
 many a brawny arm is seen rising above 
 the crowd ; many a fist descends with 
 fearful strength on uplifted faces. It is
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 239 
 
 time for the comtesse to retire, if she does 
 not wish to see the worst. 
 
 Fortunately they can follow the game 
 no more ; the players having reached the 
 top of a rugged hill, a violent kick sends 
 the ball flying, and down they rush head- 
 long, pushing, tumbling, rolling, and leave 
 at the bottom the weaker ones almost 
 crushed to death. 
 
 Meanwhile, hither and thither sway the 
 numerous spectators, uttering wild shrieks 
 and cries of encouragement. They have 
 lost all control over themselves ; they 
 call out the names of those they love 
 or know, to urge them on. But they leave 
 the wounded behind ; no pity is there for 
 the fallen — eyes and hearts are all for the 
 strong. 
 
 The number of players has greatly 
 diminished, and the best players who have 
 held themselves in reserve draw near.
 
 240 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 The exhausted men fall back and leave 
 the glory of their parishes to them.* 
 
 But it is as well for us to draw the 
 veil on the last struggle that ensues. As 
 the marquis and his party, after having 
 long lost sight of the players, reached 
 Ploermel, loud cries greeted them ; and 
 the}' heard that Ivon had won the Soule 
 
 * The game was forbidden by the government after the 
 llevolution ; for both Royalists and Republicans used it as 
 a means of revenge, and even murder.
 
 241 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Thus it happened that the favourite farmer 
 of the marquis was the winner of the Soule 
 for that year. Ivon was in all his glory, 
 and was petted by the ladies of the 
 Chateau, who went to his cottage, over- 
 ran his farm, praised everything he did, 
 and wondered that he had not married 
 yet. 
 
 That he enjoyed the sunshine of their 
 presence was evident, but that he gloried 
 even more in the greatness of his master 
 was evident also. Every night he roamed 
 about within sight of the Chateau, look- 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 242 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ing up at the many lights there, as if 
 each told of his own and of his master's 
 fortune : listenino; to the sinsiino: as if 
 it came from superior beings, of whom, 
 however, he formed a part. Envy was 
 unknown to him, and if anyone had told 
 him of a greater man than the marquis, 
 his master, he would not have believed 
 them — the king might be greater, but 
 kings were always full of faults, as 
 every Breton knew, and he saw no fault 
 in his master. And yet with this truly 
 Breton faithfulness he had cunning, as 
 indeed most of the Breton peasants have 
 — the outcome, perhaps, of their endless 
 stru lollies, first in feudal times ao^ainst 
 the unruly barons, and later on against 
 the French kings, who would fain have 
 crushed out their national existence al- 
 together. 
 
 Such was Ivon, the man who was to
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 243 
 
 play a most important part in tlie story of 
 
 the Marquis de L . 
 
 The Chateau, now full of guests, offered 
 on the outside no beauty to speak of; 
 but it had lately been repaired in the 
 style of Louis XV., and was most finely 
 decorated and adorned in the interior. 
 The family having been twice allied to 
 royalty, there were many princely gifts 
 of irreat value to their owner ; beautiful 
 Oobelin tapestry, the gift of one king, 
 a splendid clock the gift of another, and 
 so on. The marquis had as yet hidden 
 none of these things. He was one of 
 those who did not believe in the Re- 
 public ; one of those who expected it to 
 disappear with the same violence it had 
 come in ; who counted the days it had yet 
 to live, and who refused to believe in the 
 — to others — fearful realities of the times. 
 He was worshipped by his people ; — he had
 
 244 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 done no one any harm, and could not 
 believe the popular fury might even reach 
 him. 
 
 Everyone was happy at the Chateau. 
 Renee, in all her dazzling loveliness and 
 modesty, won every heart, and was the 
 favourite of high and low. What time 
 was there left for her to read in her 
 own heart ? How could she foresee the 
 dark future in store in the very Chateau 
 where all was now life and joy ? Even 
 Rohan de Carnoet was to count these 
 days among the happiest of his life ; — 
 this being in her presence continually. 
 With his Breton stolidity, he could glide 
 down the stream of love almost unknown 
 to himself. 
 
 Ivon had waited very long before marry- 
 ing ; but, when the grand ladies at the 
 Chateau joked with him because of his 
 being still a bachelor, he did not tell
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 245 
 
 them that he was even then going through 
 all the preliminaries of Breton peasant 
 courtship. One day, however, a hand- 
 some couple in beautiful costumes pre- 
 sented themselves at the Chateau ; they 
 were Ivon and his fiancee coming to 
 invite everybody there to their wed- 
 ding; and the marquis, proud of them, 
 took them at once to the drawing-room, 
 where everyone accepted the invitation 
 with alacrity. 
 
 The o-irl Ivon had chosen was a well-to- 
 do peasant with many a gold braid to her 
 skirt on Sundays and fete-days; and it had 
 been necessary for Ivon to go through his 
 courtship according to established custom. 
 The parents of the girl, having been told 
 of the wishes of the rich farmer, had 
 prepared themselves for his first visit. On 
 the day appointed, Ivon and all his 
 relations, mounted on their horses, had
 
 246 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 arrived to view the possessions of the girh 
 His friends had highly approved of his 
 choice, and her parents had in a general 
 Avay expressed themselves willing to agree 
 to his suit. After the first visit, the lover 
 had retired for a time, and his cause had 
 been taken up by many a grave beggar 
 (treated always with much respect in 
 Brittany) and many a tailor, who had 
 come every day to the cottage to speak 
 of his love ; when, to make believe that 
 his suit was rejected, they had found 
 the frying-pan turned bottom upwards, or 
 the burning wood on end, smoking up the 
 large chimney ! By this it was meant : 
 that he was to go and look elsewhere. 
 
 One day the miller, the acknowledged 
 wit of the village, and usual go-between in 
 such affairs, had come. He had made sure 
 of success beforehand, for, when he had first 
 opened his door to go out on his errand,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 247 
 
 he had retreated successfully on seeing a 
 magpie ! And when he tried a second time 
 he had seen two doves cooing to each 
 other ! 
 
 No one could resist his eloquence, and 
 the bride had been won after many a 
 flower of rhetoric spent upon her. Then 
 had the house and all the possessions of 
 the girl been finally prepared ; and on the 
 next day the stable and hayloft had been 
 visited ; the deep wide cupboards had stood 
 open showing the quantity of linen and 
 coiffes belonging to the bride-elect. 
 
 At last the day for the wedding had 
 been fixed, and to work had gone all the 
 people of the village, the weaver with his 
 best wool ; and the tailor with his golden 
 thread working embroideries worthy of a 
 queen, to be added to those of past genera- 
 tions. For two whole months had the 
 work progressed ; and then had the future
 
 248 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 bride and bridegroom set forth together 
 to make their invitations. Masters and 
 servants, friends and relatives, — the whole 
 household indeed of chateau or cottage, 
 had been invited. 
 
 At last all was ready, and the day before 
 the wedding, beggars, tailors, millers and 
 all, had gone to witness the formal accept- 
 ing of the linen-press of the bride in her 
 future home. 
 
 A long time had it taken the workmen 
 to make this tine and large linen-press 
 of carved walnut with its elaborate brass 
 mountings, so well stocked now Avith 
 everything the bride might require for 
 many a day. It was put on a cart and 
 dragged by two oxen, their necks adorned 
 with ribbons and flowers, and with a 
 white heifer folio win fy the cart. 
 
 As the procession left the house of the bride, 
 the village bells sent forth their joyful peals.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 249 
 
 But when the cart reached his door 
 they found it closed, and the master was 
 nowhere to be found. They knocked and 
 knocked, and at last the people from the 
 inside held a long parley with them, and 
 more eloquence was displayed on both 
 parts. But, as the door still remained 
 closed, sticks and blows were used, and 
 finally it was forced open, and the ward- 
 robe entered in all his glory, and was put 
 in the place of honour. Audits doors being 
 opened its riches stood revealed to the 
 eyes of the bridegroom and his assistants. 
 
 The day of the wedding comes at last, 
 and merrily ring the village bells ; the bride 
 is taken to church by her parents, and the 
 bridegroom follows with his friends. How 
 handsome they look, and hovv^ bravel}^ 
 dressed in silver and gold, embroidery and 
 lace ! Are these the poor peasants, the 
 tillers of the ground ? Are these the hard-
 
 250 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 working Avomen whose share upon earth 
 is to toil so unmercifully? 
 
 The crowd fills the church, and the 
 silver ring, with its heart coloured 
 red, is passed on the finger of the 
 bride. 
 
 The mass is said, and they enter the 
 vestry, and there the priest ofi'ers the 
 newly-married couple bread and wine. He 
 breaks the bread in two pieces, tastes each 
 piece first, and then gives it to them ; and 
 so with the wine. Only one glass is there ; 
 he carries it to his lips, and the two drink 
 after him. 
 
 The ceremony is over, the guns fire and 
 the bells ring, and bride and bridegroom 
 come forth. 
 
 Outside, however, the children of the 
 village have assembled, and hold the thick 
 branch of a tree on which is tied, with a 
 red ribbon, a bull-finch, which tries its
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 25 t 
 
 best to escape. It is the bride who must 
 give it its freedom. She comes, and, with 
 a pair of scissors, cuts the ribbon, and 
 sends the bird back to liberty. 
 
 And now for the dancing, with those in- 
 tricate and wonderful figures which made 
 once the admiration of the court of Louis 
 XIV. Marvellously light are the feet of the 
 coAv-driver, of the ploughman, and of all. 
 The heavy mhot has been replaced by a 
 thin, low shoe; the stocking is pulled on 
 the well-shaped leg, and they go from 
 place to place in the hamlets and villages 
 around, inviting everybody, by stopping 
 and dancing before each cottage-door in 
 turn. The miller, his pistols in his large, 
 bright sash four or five yards long, fires 
 in the air now and then, and dances and 
 capers before the bride. 
 
 And thus they go on ; all the people of 
 the Chateau joining in the fun. Renee,
 
 252 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 as a compliment to the bride, is dressed 
 in peasant clothes ; and how handsome a 
 peasant-girl she looks ! Even the good 
 Duchess Anne of loved memory, who had 
 done the same many years before, could 
 not have looked handsomer. Her Avhite 
 coiffe surrounds the fine oval of her face, 
 and increases her stature. The open bodice 
 is all aglow with gold embroidery ; her 
 white chemisette open at the throat, the 
 white sleeves, the long silk apron, the 
 scarlet dress — ah ! a noble maiden in a 
 noble costume ! Everyone admires her, 
 and the honours of the wedding are 
 divided between the peasant bride and 
 the noble lady. 
 
 At last the dancing is over, and the 
 feasting begins. High and low, every 
 one from chateau or village — master 
 and servant, noble and peasant, all are 
 there. Every door is shut, except the
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 253 
 
 one where the feast is held. The cider 
 runs liberally, and the singing goes on, 
 the sad and melancholy singing of the 
 Breton. 
 
 But good-night to you, good people ! 
 The j^retty conceits of your courtship are 
 ended, and, alas ! in our own days are fast 
 disappearing altogether. The toil and 
 hardships remain still, but most of the 
 poetry has flown never to return.
 
 254 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Bride and bridegroom have settled down 
 at last; lovers love on, and friends are 
 happy in each other's society. They are 
 dancing at the Chateau. The drawing- 
 room, ball-room, and dining-room are 
 dazzling with light — flowers and beauty, 
 soft-toned voices and sweet perfumes, 
 good will and tenderness, comfort and 
 peace are all there. Why should sorrow 
 come and mar the beauty of faces and dull 
 the bright eyes ? 
 
 A loud rinc: is heard at the 2:ate. It is 
 cold, fearfully cold, outside, so the ring is
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 255 
 
 answered quickly by the ready servants of 
 the hospitable nobleman, and two men 
 looking like Breton peasants, and jjen-hach 
 in hand, enter. They ask to speak to the 
 marquis, and he, suspecting who they are, 
 hurries out. 
 
 ' Come in, come in, dear friends,' he 
 cries, as he recognises them, 'come in and 
 be welcome by all. What ! and have you 
 returned to France, you emigres con- 
 demned to die if you touched once more the 
 soil of your fatherland ? Come in — come 
 in and see your old friends — happy — 
 still.' 
 
 The two men follow the marquis, and 
 accompany him to the door of the ball- 
 room. They gaze on the scene in silence 
 for a few moments, but their faces are sad 
 and solemn. The dancers cease dancing, 
 and, approaching the travellers, wait for 
 them to speak.
 
 256 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' You are dancing here,' one of them 
 says at last. ' Do you then not know the 
 news ?' 
 
 'The news? What news ?' 
 
 'The news from Paris.' 
 
 ' Xo.' 
 
 ' The king is dead.' 
 
 ' The king ? The king dead ?' 
 
 ' On the scaffold.' 
 
 A cry of horror escapes every breast. 
 The king dead, murdered, and by his 
 subjects! Can such a thing be possible? 
 Those men and women, so gay a moment 
 before, look blankly into each other's faces. 
 Is royalty at an end ? Is that vile crew 
 in Paris, reigning over France, and are 
 they in its power? No, not so long as 
 a port remains free in Brittany. They 
 will not run the risk of Mling into such 
 hands and of being soiled by contact 
 with the murderers of their king. And
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 257 
 
 to-moiTow, to-morrow at dawn more nobles 
 will have left France — to aveno^e their 
 king and their country. 
 
 Meanwhile the two gentlemen, who have 
 retired with the marquis and the more 
 serious men of the party, are considering 
 their powers of resistance. The new- 
 comers break into two pieces on their knee 
 the sticks they carry, which contain dis- 
 patches from the king's brother and plans 
 of a future campaign ; and once more the 
 famed room opens to receive the con- 
 spirators. A De Poncalec is there, and a 
 De Carnoet, and many others, sitting per- 
 haps on the very seats their fathers have 
 used. Will the Breton be for ever ready 
 to resist oppression and tyranny under 
 whatever name they present themselves ? 
 or will not the failure — the terrible failure 
 of a generation before — tell him to be- 
 ware ? But faithful and true, brave 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 and loyal, he considers life inferior to 
 duty. 
 
 On the morrow the guests found them- 
 selves scattered far and wide, only a small 
 number remaining at the Chateau — those 
 determined to plan a rebellion and those 
 who clustered round the invalid Comtesse 
 de Kerguennec, whom the bad news had 
 prostrated anew. 
 
 Very few in number were the nobles 
 left in Brittany at that time, and on these 
 devolved the care of calling the peasants 
 to arms. On this decision being taken, the 
 marquis sent for Ivon, who, with his influ- 
 ence over others and his greater means, 
 would prove a most powerful ally. And 
 Ivon came. 
 
 The marquis was alone, his friends being 
 busy travelling here and there to promote 
 the end in view : and it was as well.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 259 
 
 ' I von,' he said, ' you have heard of those 
 infamous doings in Paris — heard that the 
 king has been murdered ?' 
 
 * I have, master,' and Ivon looked stern 
 and hard. 
 
 ' I have resolved to side with those 
 determined to avenge him.' 
 
 Ivon kept silent, and the marquis went 
 on — rising up in his impatience to act, 
 and not paying much attention to the man 
 he was addressing. 
 
 ' And, Ivon, I want your help. We 
 must, every man of us, unite against these 
 miserable wretches ; we must fall in with 
 the plans of the late Marquis of Rouerie, — 
 now those of the Comte de Puisaye. I 
 will see that you all have arms ; you will 
 be brave and follow us, and hold your 
 own against those who attack you?' 
 
 'If they come and attack us, master.' 
 
 s2
 
 260 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 The tone of the answer fell unpleasantly 
 on the marquis' ear, and he faced Ivon 
 with a froAvn. 
 
 'Do you doubt that they will?' he asked 
 him, sharply. 
 
 ' I believe that, if we remain quiet, they 
 will not attack us.' 
 
 'What do you mean?' cried the mar- 
 quis ; ' would you refuse to join those who 
 are ready to fight for royalty?' 
 
 ' We shall lose everything if we do,' was 
 the peasant's reply. 
 
 ' Ah, has the love of money so taken 
 hold of your heart that you had rather 
 act the coward's part than risk what you 
 possess ? Many are there fighting at this 
 very hour for jjriest and king — and you, 
 Ivon, you hesitate ?' 
 
 The man said nothing; not even the 
 anger of his seigneur could force him to 
 fight if he had determined not to do so,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN, 261 
 
 and the marquis went on : ' You ! not fight, 
 Ivon !' 
 
 ' Monsieur le Marquis, I did not say I 
 would not fight ; I said if we were attacked 
 I would. We are too weak, master ; against 
 the republicans we can do nothing, and if 
 I may say so, Monsieur le Marquis, it 
 would be better if the two gentlemen, just 
 returned from England, left you. They 
 are known for what they are, and they will 
 bring trouble upon you. You should send 
 them away at once.' 
 
 The marquis looked at him, and replied, 
 haughtily, 
 
 ' You may act the part of a coward, if 
 you like, but you will scarcely persuade 
 me to do so. Will you or will you not 
 influence the peasants to fight? But, of 
 course, to fight only when our plans of 
 resistance are ripe.'
 
 262 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' If tliey come to attack us, we will fight ; 
 we will not leave the parish.' 
 
 ' And this is all you will do for us, for 
 God and the throne ?' 
 
 ' For you, master, I will ^ive up my 
 life.' 
 
 ' I do not want your life, man, but your 
 devotion to the cause I serve.' 
 
 ' We cannot leave the parish ; if they 
 come and attack us we will fight.' 
 
 The marquis's anger and disgust were 
 fast getting the better of him, and he was 
 on the eve of calling hound and cur the man 
 he had always petted and admired, when 
 Ivon calmly repeated his warning : 
 
 ' Master, I entreat yoa to send those 
 men away — they will be your ruin ; I feel 
 they will be your ruin. Soldiers have 
 been seen leaving Vannes, and nobody 
 knows where they are going ; they may be 
 coming here, master. I entreat you, send
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 263 
 
 the men away and save yourself and your 
 Chateau from ruin. I am ready to defend 
 you, master, to defend you with my own 
 life ; but you must send those men away.' 
 
 ' Soldiers have left Vannes, do you 
 say ?' interrupted the marquis. ' How 
 lon^^ ao:o ?' 
 
 'The day before yesterday.' 
 
 ' And Avho told you ?' 
 
 ' I know.' 
 
 ' Who told you ?' repeated the marquis, 
 fiercely. 
 
 ' Some one from Vannes who saw them.' 
 
 The marquis paused a moment; angry as 
 he was at the turn the conversation had 
 taken, he was not so rash as not to 
 feel his danger if he were sus]Dected of 
 harbouring returned emigres. But he 
 thought I von even able to tell him a false- 
 hood to secure his own peace and money, 
 and he went on :
 
 264 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' If they left the day before yesterday, 
 they would have reached us ere this, sup- 
 posing they were coming here. Is it the 
 truth you are telling me ?' 
 
 ' I want you, master, to save yourself; it 
 is the truth I am telling you.' 
 
 ' Very well, I begin to see that you are 
 afraid of the Bleus, and that is why you 
 refuse to join us in our plan of resistance. 
 I have done with you ; if anyone had told 
 me Ivon was a coward, I could not have 
 believed it.' 
 
 The man laughed darkly, and repeated, 
 while going away : 
 
 ^ If the soldiers come, we will fight ; if 
 they come, we will fight ; but we won't 
 leave the parish.' 
 
 He was almost out of the marquis's hear- 
 ing when the latter called him back. In 
 his heart he had already forgiven him, 
 and the important communication could
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 265 
 
 not be allowed thus to fall to the ground. 
 
 Ivon returned, his face as stern and 
 hard as at the beginning of the interview, 
 and the marquis said to him: 
 
 'Ivon, if what you tell me about these 
 soldiers is true, I feel I have not ex- 
 plained myself properly and have been un- 
 just. Of course some men must remain at 
 home, but some will have to go. There is no 
 need for you to leave L — — ; but the young 
 men who refused to serve the Republic, and 
 who would be shot like dogs if found, 
 ought not to refuse to serve in the army 
 of the king. I hope you will not set 
 yourself against this.' 
 
 ' No, master, no.' 
 
 ' Well then, come and see my friends, 
 they must all be told your news ; it may 
 prove of the utmost importance to them, 
 
 and no doubt they had better leave L 
 
 at once.'
 
 266 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' They had better ^o, Monsieur le 
 Marquis.' 
 
 ' I am afraid the comtesse is too ill to 
 be moved.' 
 
 ' I will remove her in my arms to our 
 cottage, if she will let me. I have thought 
 of it all.' 
 
 ' Then you really think the thing 
 serious ?' 
 
 ' I believe you are in danger, master.' 
 The marquis looked at Ivon, but 
 nothing could be read on his rigid and 
 dogged face. On reaching the room 
 where his guests were assembled, he told 
 them of Ivon's warning and of his own 
 fears, and at once the position was under- 
 stood by them. One and all, according 
 to Ivon's advice, prepared for flight — 
 all except the comtesse. Surely if sol- 
 diers came they would not arrest her ; the 
 comte and all the others must hide,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 267 
 
 and Renee also. But Renee refused to 
 leave her, and the comte, unwilling to 
 resist lier wishes, hoped he could mana^^e 
 to watch over her unseen when the time 
 came. 
 
 Everybody was busy at the Chateau 
 now; servants ran to and fro ; horses and 
 carriages were got in readiness for a 
 sudden start, and the marquis, with Renee 
 and with Ivon — the only one he could 
 trust entirely of his own household — went 
 from room to room and carried away 
 unseen what was considered most precious. 
 Pictures, vases, gold and silver, swords, 
 diamonds, and all the accumulation of 
 centuries in fine-art and fine workman- 
 ship were there, and it was hard work 
 to choose, hard work to dismantle the 
 rooms, hard work to carry everything to 
 those hiding-places of generations before. 
 Once there, however, they were safe.
 
 268 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 The secret remained hid in the bosoms of 
 those two the marquis had trusted ; Ivon 
 and Renee alone were answerable before 
 him and before God for the safety of part 
 of his fortune. 
 
 The short winter day was drawing to a 
 close ; the marquis had bid farewell to 
 his friends and was pacing up and down 
 his mansion, deprived of its most beautiful 
 ornaments, and looking desolate in his 
 eyes. In the sick-room with the comtesse 
 were together for awhile before separ- 
 ating for the night the comte, the Chevalier 
 de Valvourgs, and the two De Carnoets. 
 The silence succeeding to so many days 
 of pleasure, and the animation that had 
 prevailed during the day, seemed strange 
 to the few left behind, and was painful 
 to bear for the invalid. Her courage 
 had gone with the coming night, and 
 she now regretted she was endangering
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 26^ 
 
 those clear to her and who persisted in not 
 leaving her. 
 
 ' To-morrow,' she said, ' I will go to 
 Ivon's farm.' 
 
 Meanwhile, Ivon, who knew how to 
 reach the marquis without the help of 
 servants, passed silently from room to 
 room, looking out for him, and meeting 
 him at last, said quickly, 
 
 ' Monsieur le Marquis, fly at once ; the 
 soldiers are coming this Avay ; there is no 
 doubt about it. I hear they left Kergo 
 last night — and — and — ' the peasant 
 seemed suddenly to be overcome by a 
 terrible agitation ; then went on : ' Do you 
 remember Guillemot the farmer ?' 
 
 ^ Certainly.' 
 
 ^ They have been fighting for some time 
 at Kergo, and yesterday the Bleus were 
 there. When told they were coming, 
 everybody rushed away, carrying their chil-
 
 270 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 dren Avith tliem, and trying to separate, 
 so as not to attract attention. The soldiers 
 took away horses and oxen, cows and 
 sheep, corn and hay — everything they 
 could lay their hands on. The people 
 returned for the night to their houses, but 
 several were missing — among others, Guil- 
 lemot and his little girl six months old. 
 This morning, by accident, he was dis- 
 covered — he must have been seen crossing 
 a field — he had one of his legs broken by 
 a shot, and the soldiers had nailed his 
 head to the ground with a plough-share. 
 His little girl was found alive, still by 
 him. She had spent the whole night 
 there.' 
 
 The marquis, speechless with horror, 
 looked at Ivon. What ! could those 
 men thus murder a defenceless man with 
 XI child in his arms? Was it possible
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 271 
 
 that such savage deeds could take place 
 at a few leagues' distance from his 
 house? That Guillemot he had known 
 well as an honest, intelligent man. Were 
 all his people exposed to such treatment ? 
 
 ' I am grieved, I von, grieved at this 
 beyond what I can say. I hope you are 
 preparing yourselves, in case they come 
 to you. Can I do anything for you ?' 
 
 ^ Give us all the arms you can ; the 
 people have dug holes, and have been 
 hiding their things all day — as we 
 have been doing here. It will be better 
 for us to run away too, if they come — 
 people are on the watch, and will let us 
 know. But you, master, go now; you 
 have horses and servants, go to Doua- 
 meney. I hear there is an English boat 
 not far off cruising and waiting for those 
 very men who came to you.'
 
 272 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Then, as lie saw the surprise of the 
 marquis at finding him so well informed, 
 he went on : 
 
 ' We have to watch and be careful ; and 
 everywhere beggars, and men disguised as 
 beofsars, are iindino: out news for us.' 
 
 ' And all this time we have been arnus- 
 ino; ourselves here. I could never have be- 
 lieved it — never have believed the danger 
 so serious and so near. But what about 
 the comtesse ?' 
 
 'They won't come to-night, and to- 
 morrow morning we will remove her.' 
 
 'Let it be so.' 
 
 ' Go now. Monsieur le Marquis ; for, if 
 they come, it will be for you.' 
 
 ' Thank you, Ivon ; I will see to it. I 
 must go to my friends now and tell them, 
 and advise them to flee.' 
 
 The peasant watched the marquis in 
 silence, and then said,
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 273 
 
 ' I will go and get your liorse ready, 
 master. Which servant will you take ?' 
 
 ^ Let it be Yehan. Good-bye, Ivon, good- 
 bye. I have trusted you as few men 
 have ever been trusted by another. You 
 will be faithful to your master, even in his 
 absence ?' 
 
 ' You can trust me, master ; I will 
 watch over the Chateau as long as I live.' 
 
 ' God reward you, Ivon. God reward 
 you according to your desert. Now I 
 must go to the comte. How I wish they 
 could all leave at once. Good-bye, Ivon, 
 good-bye.' 
 
 ' Go, master, go, your horse will soon be 
 ready for you. And I also should like to 
 go to my house and see after things 
 there.' 
 
 ' Don't wait for me, Ivon, I can manage 
 now.' 
 
 But Ivon shook his head, and said, 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I will first see you in safety, master.' 
 
 Ivon was wrong when he said the 
 soldiers would not come that night. As 
 he was on his way to the stables, and the 
 marquis had only just reached his friends, 
 a great noise was heard outside, and 
 cries of, 'Fly, fly, the soldiers are coming!' 
 reached him. The whole population had 
 left their homes and were calling out to 
 him on their way. 
 
 The gentlemen looked at each other. 
 
 ' All the men must have left the village ; 
 we cannot resist. Quick, marquis, they 
 are coming for you, no doubt ; we shall 
 manage,' said the comte. 
 
 ' But you and Renee — and the com- 
 tesse ' 
 
 'Her illness will account for our presence. 
 Do not hesitate.' 
 
 ' There is a hiding-place in the Chateau.' 
 
 ' Yes, but . of what use will it be when
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN, 275 
 
 those men are established here? Waste 
 no mere time. We will see to ourselves. 
 Chevalier, accompany the marquis a little 
 way ; but be on your guard.' 
 
 ' But you, Renee, who can watch over 
 you ?' 
 
 'The fewer we are the better. I am 
 sure my uncle is right. And you also, 
 Monsieur Rohan.' 
 
 ' Certainly,' replied Rohan, calmly. — 
 ^ But not with the marquis,' he said to 
 himself, as he hurried out. 
 
 * Hark !' cried the comte, suddenly. 
 ' What is that ?' 
 
 'The soldiers are here. It is the 
 '' Marseillaise !" ' 
 
 The friends press each other's hands, and 
 the marquis leaves them. But on his way 
 he meets Ivon. 
 
 ' Hide yourself, master ; it is too danger- 
 ous for you to go now.' 
 
 T 2
 
 276 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Renee and the comtesse remain alone, 
 they also hear the cries and the ' Mar- 
 seillaise ;' and in silence and with beating 
 hearts they listen as the strains grow 
 louder and louder, fiercer and more fierce.
 
 277 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ^ Forward ! sons of France, the day of glory now is nigh ! 
 To arms, citizens ! form your battalions ! 
 Forward ! forward ! may their craven blood water our 
 furrows!' 
 
 And the refrain recurs again and again, 
 and the wild, overpowering air urges them 
 on. Noble hymn of war, grand ' Mar- 
 seillaise,' who can resist thy power ? Off- 
 spring of enthusiasm — knell of the glory 
 of kings ! Yell of sanguinary fury — 
 heroic outburst of patriotism and liberty ! 
 What does the Republic not owe to 
 thee ?
 
 278 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Forward ! forward ! 
 To arms, citizens I' 
 
 And to its rliytlimic cadence, their hearts 
 beating with force and fury, fall the 
 steps of those terrible battalions, those 
 saviours of their country ; those soldiers 
 of a day ; ill-fed, ill-clothed ; but ready for 
 any excess — nay, for any crime ; for any 
 self-sacrifice, for any degree of valour ! 
 And ever victorious ! 
 
 ' What would this horde of traitors, of slaves, and of kings 
 
 united against France ? 
 For whom these ignominious fetters ? 
 To arms ! may their craven blood water our furrows !' 
 
 And the strain pursues a king on his 
 way to death ; a king whose heart over- 
 flows with indignation and righteous 
 wrath ; the best and most virtuous of the 
 Bourbon kings ! Alas ! one look upon the 
 past which has brought him on the scaf- 
 fold, one glance towards the future, he 
 lays his royal head low.
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 279 
 
 * Forward ! forward ! may their craven blood "water our 
 furron's !' 
 
 And the defenders of the Republic go 
 through the towns and villages, clothed in 
 rags, covered with dust and blood : — blood 
 from a woman's dripping head ! blood 
 from the heart of an aristocrat ! blood 
 from the body of a little child ! 
 
 * Forward ! forward ! 
 To arms, citizens !' 
 
 And the same song leads men to glory [ 
 And thousands of men come forward, leave 
 behind what makes life dear, and rush to 
 the frontier : 
 
 ' Tremble, tyrants, and you who fio'ht against your country, 
 Disgrace of the human race ! 
 
 Against you all become soldiers ! 
 
 Forward ! forward ! may their craven blood water our 
 furrows !' 
 
 Prussians, Austrians, they are your natu- 
 ral enemies ; but the noblemen of France, 
 pitiless tigers who rend their mother's 
 bosom, what are they doing among these ?
 
 280 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 Sacred love of country, guide and sustain our avenging arms, 
 To arms, citizens ! form your battalions ! 
 Forward ! forward ! may their craven blood water our 
 furrows !' 
 
 But, mighty outburst of indignation 
 and wrath, noble ' Marseillaise,' wherefore 
 has the magic of thy power ceased ? 
 How is it that thy manly strains are no 
 longer taken up by thousands ? Ah ! in 
 thy wild justice thou hast forgotten that 
 there are loyal hearts that will cling to the 
 past ! will cling to it with all its faults and 
 virtues I Ignorant peasants with long, 
 streaming hair, iron frames and still more 
 iron wills, hear thee indeed — but answer 
 not ! In vain dost thou call on them ! 
 In vain dost thou invite them to glory ! 
 They will not hear, but will deal the first 
 blow at the Republic thou dost proclaim, 
 and to thy cry of defiance reply, ' Le roi est 
 mort, vive le roi'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 28 I 
 
 Those at Ploermel were in hiding ; the 
 soldiers passed through a deserted village, 
 came to the Chateau, and, the butt-ends 
 of their guns striking sharply on the 
 threshold, they asked admittance in the 
 name of the Republic. 
 
 The trembling servant opened to them. 
 
 ' What will you here?' 
 
 'Thy master, the ci-devant Marquis- ' 
 
 * My master is not here.' 
 
 ' He was here yesterday and this morning. 
 Take care how thou dost answer us.' 
 
 ' I know not where he is.' And he speaks 
 the truth. 
 
 ' Very well, we must visit the Chateau 
 for ourselves and see.' 
 
 They stop before the Comte de Ker- 
 guennec. 
 
 ' Who art thou, citoyen T 
 
 ' My name is Kerguennec' 
 
 ' What dost thou here ?'
 
 282 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' I was on a visit here, but my wife fell 
 ill ; and I and my family are the only ones 
 left; 
 
 ' Thy wife ill ? Where is she ? Let us 
 see her.' 
 
 ' But your presence will terrify her ; I 
 entreat you, forbear.' 
 
 'We w^ould judge for ourselves of the 
 truth of thy speech, citoyen. Lead us to 
 her.' 
 
 ' She is in bed and very ill.' 
 
 * Beware how thou dost resist, or we 
 may find a prompt and quick remedy that 
 would cure her altogether.' 
 
 And a ferocious smile is on every face. 
 
 ' Allow me to go and forewarn her.' 
 
 ^ Nay, nay, thou and thine order are all 
 deceivers ; we will go with thee.' 
 
 The comte goes to his wife's room and 
 knocks. 
 
 ^ Renee,' he asks, ' Renee !'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 283 
 
 And Kenee comes forth ; a beautiful,, 
 deadly-pale woman, but neither afraid 
 nor tremblinof. She shuts the door after 
 her and faces the soldiers. 
 
 ' Ma foi ! citoyen, thou hast a handsome 
 wife, but thou didst lie to us — she is not 
 ill!' 
 
 ' This is my niece, and not my wife.' 
 
 ' Gitoyenne^ what is thy name?' 
 
 ' Renee de Kerguennec' 
 
 ' Well, Renee de Kerguennec, thou art a 
 fine woman ; but it will go hard with thee 
 all the same if thy uncle has not told the 
 truth ! Where is the sick woman ?' 
 
 ' Renee, can you tell your aunt that she 
 must see these men ?' 
 
 ' She will see them.' 
 
 And Renee opens the door wide, for the 
 comtesse has been forewarned, and has 
 summoned all her strength to face the 
 ordeal. Pale and faint, she tries to sit up
 
 •284 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 as the soldiers stream into tlie room. Her 
 trembling, tliin hands on the counterpane 
 clasping and unclasping, she looks towards 
 the soldiers with a sad, pitiful look while 
 they none the less go to her and ask her 
 roughly, 
 
 ' Art thou the wife of the citizen 
 Kerguennec ?' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 'Where is theci-devaiit Marquis deL ? 
 
 Dost thou know ?' 
 
 ' I do not, indeed.' 
 
 ' How long is it since he left ?' 
 
 ' Not long.' 
 
 ' Where was he going ?' 
 
 ^ I do not know.' 
 
 ' He has left here, thou art sure ?' 
 
 ^ Yes, he must have left now.' 
 
 ' Left when he heard us ?' 
 
 'Yes.' 
 
 *Then he cannot be very far off,' said
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 285- 
 
 the officer, addressing his men. ^ Unfortu- 
 nately we cannot run after him in this 
 darkness. Meanwhile, search the room and- 
 see if these aristocrats tell me the truth.' 
 
 The men looked under the bed, searched 
 everywhere, even between the mattresses 
 — for might not the marquis be there, and 
 had they not already found one hiding 
 after that fashion ? 
 
 At last they leave the comtesse half 
 dead with fright. 
 
 ' Now search the house.' 
 
 The whole party disperses, and for a long 
 time the noise of the butt-end of their 
 guns knocking against the walls and doors 
 and partitions is heard. But, wherever 
 the marquis is, they do not find him, and 
 they return to the room where they had 
 first met the comte. 
 
 ' Citoyen Kerguennec, listen,' said the 
 officer, opening a large paper. — ' " In the
 
 286 A BTIETON MAIDEN. 
 
 name of the Republic one and indivisible, 
 
 the citoyen L is declared traitor to 
 
 his country, and condemned to death for 
 having held communication with and har- 
 boured the enemies of France, foreigners 
 and emigres. All the property of the said 
 citoyen is declared forfeited and passes 
 into the hands of the nation to be used 
 for the benefit of the Republic — Long live 
 France ! Long live the Republic !" We 
 would leave men in the place to-morrow, 
 but, considering that thou art here, with 
 thy sick wife, and that thou art a lover 
 of the Republic, as we must believe, we 
 place the property in thy hands a few 
 days. See, then, that nothing is removed 
 — thou answerest for it with thy head. 
 Thou wilt go when the Republic has 
 replaced thee.' 
 
 The officer and his men then withdrew ; 
 and long was the noise that went on before
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 287 
 
 tliey retired to rest. Early in the morn- 
 ing, however, they were heard leaving the 
 Chateau in silence. 
 
 As they passed through the empty 
 village, and searched the cottages, they 
 little dreamed of the danger in their 
 rear, for, what the song of the 
 * Marseillaise ' could not do, the danger 
 the marquis was running had accom- 
 plished. Of a common accord, and 
 with Rohan de Carnoet at their head, the 
 peasants had assembled for the work of 
 rescue, and had waited for the soldiers 
 all night. If these had brought out with 
 them any prisoner, neither their being 
 unprepared for war, unarmed, or in 
 smaller numbers would have stopped the 
 peasants from rushing upon their enemies, 
 and the players of the Soule would soon 
 have known how to bring them down 
 to the ground. Very different from the
 
 288 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 gorgeously-dressed peasants did they look 
 now, with their goat-skin coats, the coarse 
 hair of which mixed unpleasantly with 
 their long, dark locks ; their thick shoes, 
 or sabots, half-filled with straw, their com- 
 mon leather gaiters, and their broad, black 
 felt hats deep on their heads. No wonder 
 their enemies, when suddenly brought to 
 face such foes — who had watched for them, 
 lurking behind trees, and hedges, anddruidi- 
 cal monuments — called them savages. But, 
 such as they were, these had sworn in 
 their hearts, on that early morning, to 
 avenge the profaned sacredness of their 
 homes !
 
 289 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Great was the astonishment of those left 
 at the Chateau to find that the marquis 
 was still there. But his flight had now 
 become imperative. 
 
 Farewell to you, farewell, for who 
 knows when friends who part thus will 
 meet again ? Farewell to those we hold 
 most dear ! Farewell to the beloved 
 country — since evil passions will drive 
 men like chafl" before the tempestuous 
 wind ; since even the noblest ideas must 
 be profaned by the vilest of men ; since 
 peace is not to be had on the earth ! Fare- 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 well to the hearth that has seen us on our 
 mother's knee ; to the home where the 
 young bride has come and died, leaving 
 a perfume of remembrance behind her 
 to be treasured up and cherished ! Fare- 
 well to the house of our ancestors, 
 which is doomed to be plundered and 
 sold and pass into the hands of the 
 stranger ! 
 
 Now have we become like waifs upon the 
 earth, homeless, hopeless, and often poor. 
 Ah ! if only the mother-country could 
 profit by our tears ! But God knows 
 best. 
 
 Exile ! exile ! ah, thou art a bitter thing ! 
 Who will speak to us the language we 
 love ? Who will hold out to us the hand 
 of companionship ? Who will weep with 
 us over the fall of our country, and be 
 indulgent over its sins ? Who will blend 
 their hopes with ours that it may some
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 291 
 
 day be o^reat a^ain ? The bread of her 
 enemies must we eat ; the hand of her 
 enemies must we press ; the judgment 
 passed over her by her enemies must we 
 hear; their contempt and hatred must we 
 -contend with. Farewell, farewell and for 
 ever ! Who knows ? 
 
 And the gates of the Chateau shut 
 behind its master as they have shut be- 
 hind those who have enjoyed his princely 
 hospitality. Those days of laughter and 
 singing and mirth are gone ; now is the 
 horizon of sorrow stretching far and wide 
 before the marquis ; whether he goes north 
 or south, east or west, exile is before 
 him! 
 
 A dreary silence falls over the place. 
 The horse in the stable neighs in vain for 
 his master ; the servants weep in vain ; 
 they also must leave the home w^here no 
 master is left. The flowers droop and die 
 
 u2
 
 292 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 in tlie rooms they have adorned — in the 
 hot-houses they have made brilHant. 
 
 Nature is lovely even in its deepest 
 recesses ; in its wildness and in its very 
 dreariness it has its charms ; but the habi- 
 tation of man, however beautifully designed 
 and adorned, requires life to make it bear- 
 able. The sun's rays look out of place 
 when streaming on treasures that were 
 once carefully guarded against its scorch- 
 ing light ; the silence is oppressive, the 
 atmosphere heavy — a nest without a bird, 
 an empty cage, a body from which the soul 
 has fled ! 
 
 Those left in that desolate mansion 
 roamed about disconsolately, feeling so 
 much the more its depressive loneliness 
 that nothing in it belonged to them ; that 
 they were prisoners in it ! 
 
 Then men came who took possession of 
 everything, made long lists of what had
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 293 
 
 made life pleasant, set a value of their 
 own on objects of inestimable wortli to the 
 rightful owner. They lounged about in 
 the chairs where beauty had reigned ; 
 revelled in profane jests where the utmost 
 refinement had been, and made the noble 
 place resound with ribald and drunken 
 songs. 
 
 Then the walls of the old pile were 
 covered with large bills, bearing at the top 
 a device : — the eye of the law, and pikes 
 surmounted by the Phrygian cap with the 
 words : 
 
 Liherte^ Egalite^ Fraternite. 
 
 ' In the name of the Republic one and in- 
 divisible this house and all the property it 
 contains, are declared national property to 
 be sold immediately to the profit of the 
 nation. Long live the Republic !' 
 
 Then followed a list of all valuables and 
 goods.
 
 294 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 ' Let US go, let us go away at once now 
 we can,' cried the comtesse ; ' carry me, 
 drag me, but take me away. Oh ! that such 
 a calamity should have come in our day to a 
 friend we love ; that such a fate should be 
 threatening us also ! Why cannot I send 
 away my dear ones to spare them such a 
 sight, send them away out of the reach of 
 the depraved and wicked, or — die, to set 
 them free !' 
 
 ' Dearest,' replied the comte, * in your 
 presence does our safety lie; your weakness 
 will be our strength ; fear not what may 
 happen to us, but live ; the love that binds 
 us will still prove our salvation and our 
 
 joy-'
 
 295 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ' Home ! sweet home !' Ave cry even if during 
 our absence it has been all joy to us, and no 
 feelings of pain or sadness have visited us ! 
 With what a delightful restlessness we roam 
 over every part dear to us— to the window 
 where the sun's rays are softest, and where 
 the view is we appreciate the most ; to the 
 room associated in our mind with pleasant 
 moments, with its easy chair where fancy- 
 free our sweetest dreams have come to us, 
 and its thick carpet our feet touch with 
 a comfortable sense of recognition. And
 
 296 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 how fondly our heads are laid against the 
 pillow to which we have whispered our 
 dearest hopes ! 
 
 How much dearer are those friends who 
 have returned home with us ! How we 
 like to recall thoughts had in common ! 
 Do you remember this ? we ask, or — How 
 happy we were then ? — Have you forgotten 
 that sweet moment of laughter ? 
 
 And even if there has been sorrow, how 
 softened it is by the grateful feelings that 
 now fill the heart. Ah ! how w^e cling to 
 things we love ! How we cling to our 
 earthly paradise ! 
 
 And Renee was again at home, and 
 flitted from place to place. There the 
 chevalier had asked her to be his bride ; 
 there their hands had pressed each other 
 in the dance ; there she had heard of 
 Rohan's first exploit, and even now remem-
 
 A BKETON MAIDEN. 297 
 
 bered the sharp pain it had given her ; 
 there they all had been together listening 
 to some favourite music, or been captivated 
 by a loved voice. Oh ! how dear they 
 were those friends who for some time 
 now had lived with her, and had accom- 
 panied her steps on the highway of 
 life. 
 
 And for them also her home was their 
 home on that day ; for them also the place 
 was full of reminiscences they cherished. 
 It was dear to them through its own 
 beauty and through the charm of her 
 presence. What captivating pleasure in 
 retracing each past event, each past dream ! 
 The chevalier clung to her, met her glance 
 with ranture, heard her voice with ever 
 new delight. But Rohan was happier 
 away, happier w^here she was not. For 
 him it was the woods that they had trod
 
 298 A BRETON MAIDEN. 
 
 together that touched his heart, — the flower 
 gardens she had trimmed, — the view of the 
 sea they had admired together. But what 
 was he doing now at Kerguennec? he 
 asked himself. 
 
 ' Renee, let us stop here for ever,' said 
 the chevalier to her. ' Let us marry at 
 once and forget all about the wickedness 
 going on in the world.' 
 
 But then a gentle sigh would come. 
 
 ' Hush, hush, let us live at rest through 
 this day ; let us not wake up what 
 makes the heart tremble. Look at the 
 sea, how calm it is ! How, though it be 
 winter, the sun shines ! It may soon be 
 winter for us — yet should to-day the sun 
 of gratitude shine in our hearts and leave 
 us satisfied with what is. To-day let us 
 be happy and live. — Ah ! Monsieur Rohan, 
 where have you been ?'
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 299' 
 
 ' To our woods ; the thick carpet of 
 grass and moss is still green, and the pine- 
 tree is as strong as ever, and there is a 
 crispness in the atmosphere that speaks of 
 strength that should be used — a reproach 
 to my indolent life.' 
 
 ' Ah ! men, you are all alike, always dis- 
 satisfied. You cannot stoj) awhile to con- 
 template. Thoughts of action must come 
 in. How can men and women ever agree ! 
 When happy, we would like to stop the 
 flight of time ; but you would speed it on. 
 The happiness of the present brings a safe 
 standing-place to us, but it is always with 
 you regrets and longings. Ah ! how great 
 is the ingratitude of men !' — And the sweet 
 words of reproach lost themselves in a 
 sweeter smile still. 
 
 The young chevalier said, softly, 
 
 'Renee, I am happy, but I long for
 
 300 A BEETON MAIDEN. 
 
 more happiness ; and liow can I help 
 longing?' 
 
 Rohan looked at them both, and a great 
 pain shot through his frame. But he said 
 nothing. ' Regrets, longings,' had she said. 
 He had no right to regrets, no right to 
 lono^ino^s ! But he felt he could be brave 
 and strong, and even in his pain there was 
 the comfort of knowing this. 
 
 The comtesse, reclining in her chair, 
 welcomed the sea-breeze, which was felt 
 even indoors — welcomed the grand sight of 
 the Avaves rolling in majesty far away. She 
 would be better now ; this was the atmo- 
 sphere which to her was life, the view 
 which brought her nearer to her Creator. 
 
 '- 1 cannot sing like the lark,' she mur- 
 mured softly to herself, 'I cannot rise 
 through space like the eagle, but I can 
 praise God and be thankful — thankful for 
 peace and sympathy in love.'
 
 A BllETON MAIDEN. 301 
 
 And her eyes left space to rest on her 
 husband at a small distance from her. 
 
 'Dear friend, it is sweet to be at home 
 again, is it not?' she asked. 
 He rose and came to her. 
 'You feel better already, do you not? 
 You will soon feel stronger, and I am glad; 
 perhaps we also shall be able to go away.' 
 
 ' Oh, speak not to-day of going away. I 
 had for one moment forgotten. We are 
 at peace here. We shall so remain, shall 
 we not ?' 
 
 'Forgive me. I should not have said 
 it ; but our fate is linked with that of a 
 nation, and troubles will come to us, even 
 though that nation's welfare were our last 
 thought and care. Better face the truth, 
 and get accustomed to it than lull our- 
 selves into a false sense of security. Be- 
 sides, dear wife, love will follow you 
 wherever you are ; love is the one" thmg
 
 302 A BKETON MAIDEN. 
 
 we have from Heaven that is faithful unto 
 death. Be very courageous ; we all love 
 you,' he added, smiling, and stroking her 
 hair gently. 'Let us join hands, and give 
 each other strength. You will be strong, 
 will you not?' 
 
 ' Strong ! strong ! Ah ! it is easy for 
 the healthy to speak of strength, easy 
 when life courses rapidly through one's 
 veins, and the warm blood rushes to one's 
 cheeks ; easy to dance and whirl round 
 and round when the head is not sick ; to 
 talk loud and rapidly when the tongue 
 is not tied by feebleness ! Dear friend, 
 ask me not to be strong ; let me shelter 
 my weakness in your strength, hide my 
 poor aching head in your bosom ! If sor- 
 row comes, it is you Avho will save ; T 
 am but a burden and your care. There- 
 fore, let me shut my eyes to what may 
 come, enjoy the present awhile by your
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. 303 
 
 side. As long as you are near, I am safe 
 —and this is sucli a happy day l' 
 
 And in the evening, when brought to- 
 gether, Renee sang their sweet and homely 
 melodies, and they all thought also— this 
 has been such a happy day. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON : PRINTED BY DUNCAN MACDONALD, BLENHEIM HOUSE.