"
"If you did," said she, "I should die of shame, or I should not have
the strength to carry out this last sacrifice."
"Breakfast is served," said Mariette.
Hortense came in to wish her parents good-morning. They had to go to
breakfast and assume a false face.
"Begin without me; I will join you," said the Baroness.
She sat down to her desk and wrote as follows:
"MY DEAR MONSIEUR CREVEL,--I have to ask a service of you; I shall
expect you this morning, and I count on your gallantry, which is
well known to me, to save me from having too long to wait for you.
--Your faithful servant,
"ADELINE HULOT."
"Louise," said she to her daughter's maid, who waited on her, "take
this note down to the porter and desire him to carry it at once to
this address and wait for an answer."
The Baron, who was reading the news, held out a Republican paper to
his wife, pointing to an article, and saying:
"Is there time?"
This was the paragraph, one of the terrible "notes" with which the
papers spice their political bread and butter:--
"A correspondent in Algiers writes that such abuses have been
discovered in the commissariate transactions of the province of
Oran, that the Law is making inquiries.
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