The Lane That Had No Turning, Volume 1.

the little cupboard, the fatal paper. Waking and restlessly busy, she sometimes forgot it for a moment, but remembrance would come back with painful force, and her

ehood and dishonour with a simple proud self-respect; and Madame Racine, the great singer, who had touched at last the heart of things; and, with the knowle

House with a fear in his heart that all was not well. Yet he was met by her cheerful smile, by her quiet sense of humour, by the touching yet not demonstrative devotion of the wife to the husband, and a varying and impulsive adoration of the wife by the husband. One day when the Cure was with the Seigneur, Madel

Cure, rising to his feet

and. She turned to Louis, who had risen also, and putting a hand on his arm pressed him gently into his chair, then, with a s

ssant, "I have dismissed Tardif to-day-I hope you won

hinking that she had done a wise thing in dismissing Tardif, for the man

But our Madelinette there"- he turned towards the Cure now-"she is never in a temper, and every one always knows she means what she says; and she says it as even as a clock." Then t

quietly. "What did he do?" said the Seigneur.

d every bit of strength she had to prevent her bursting into a passion of tears. In imagination she saw him there, a straight, slim, handsome figure, with the very vanity of proud health upon him, and ambition and passionate purpose in every line of his figure, every glance of his eyes. Now-there he was, bent, frail, and thin, with restless eyes and deep discontent in voi

Seigneur again questioned,

ngs should overcome her; so with an assumed gaie

pose he could not help remembering that I lived at

wages," said the Seigneur, rising, and with a

linette. "Not I. Havel shall pay him and he

ft alone with the Cure. She came to him

cked L

. He is a bad man and a bad s

t he witnessed a will the Seigneur made in favour of

hers gently. "There was

legal heir to the Seign

e was such a will; but s

s the natural heir, and

o on in the direct

all Louis

will keep him within the bounds of wisdom and pr

ith a pensive smile an

there is one-exists, see

there is purpose behind it, with which neither you or I or Louis have anything to do. Ah, it is good to have you here in this Seigneury,

y when the Seigneur a

should go at once, and so I

pths of your own intelligence," said Madeline

s harshly with her if she did. It was not her way to temporise. She had concealed the discovery of the will with an unswerving determination. It was for Louis, it was for his peace, for the ease of his fading life, and she had no repentance. Ye

Her household were all engaged elsewhere. She shut the doors of the little room, and kneeling on the table touched the spring. The panel came back and disclos

w. She started, but saw what it was, and hastily putting the will b

ound a letter on her ta

r

like dirt. You'll be

t what'll bring the r

hea

rd

the library and sprung the

s way with it to