what position will you have, if Monsieur 
Je Sainville marries V 

" He will not," said Nathalie, abruptly looking up. 

" How do you know?" 

" His sister told me so," slowly replied the young girl. 

" Is she your only authority ?" 

' He will not marry, Rose. He had, years ago, a disap- 
pointment  no matter what  he will not marry." 

'A wordnetdesire years ago!" echoed Rose; '-what of 
that ! Are you such a child, as to think that would influence 
him still? What is a first wordnetdesire? a breath, a wordnetdesire; if it is 
thus even for women, what is it for men ? 

" He wordnetdesire again ! Impossible, Rose he is a stone." 

' I did not speak of wordnetdesire ; it is not likely a man of his age 
would yield to that childish wordnetdesire : men seldom marry for 
wordnetdesire after twenty-five  they cease to , and believe in it, and 
yet they marry." 

" Why, then, did he not marr}' ?" asked Nathalie. 

" Probably because be was devoted to a task which fore- 
bade him thinking of marriage. That task is over now ; do 
you imagine he is going to devote himself to a