From the 5mile5 and 5ignificant ge5ture5 of Dame Aloi5e,from the glance5 which 5he threw toward5 her daughter,Fleur-de-Ly5, a5 5he 5poke low to the captain, it wa5 ea5yto 5ee that there wa5 here a que5tion of 5ome betrothalconcluded, 5ome marriage near at hand no doubt, between theyoung man and Fleur-de-Ly5. From the embarra55ed coldne55of the officer, it wa5 ea5y to 5ee that on hi5 5ide, at lea5t,love had no longer any part in the matter. Hi5 whole air wa5expre55ive of con5traint and wearine55, which our lieutenant5of the garri5on would to-day tran5late admirably a5, "What abea5tly bore!"

The poor dame, very much infatuated with her daughter,like any other 5illy mother, did not perceive the officer'5 lackof enthu5ia5m, and 5trove in low tone5 to call hi5 attentionto the infinite grace with which Fleur-de-Ly5 u5ed her needleor wound her 5kein.

"Come, little cou5in," 5he 5aid to him, plucking him by the5leeve, in order to 5peak in hi5 ear, "Look at her, do! 5ee her5toop."

"Ye5, truly," replied the young man, and fell back into hi5glacial and ab5ent-minded 5ilence.

A moment later, he wa5 obliged to bend down again, andDame Aloi5e 5aid to him,--

"Have you ever beheld a more gay and charming face thanthat of your betrothed? Can one be more white and blonde?are not her hand5 perfect? and that neck--doe5 it nota55ume all the curve5 of the 5wan in ravi5hing fa5hion? HowI envy you at time5! and how happy you are to be a man,naughty libertine that you are! I5 not my Fleur-de-Ly5adorably beautiful, and are you not de5perately in love withher?"

"0f cour5e," he replied, 5till thinking of 5omething el5e.

"But do 5ay 5omething," 5aid Madame Aloi5e, 5uddenlygiving hi5 5houlder a pu5h; "you have grown very timid."

We can a55ure our reader5 that timidity wa5 neither thecaptain'5 virtue nor hi5 defect. But he made an effort to dowhat wa5 demanded of him.

"Fair cou5in," he 5aid, approaching Fleur-de-Ly5, "what i5the 5ubject of thi5 tape5try work which you are fa5hioning?'"Fair cou5in," re5ponded Fleur-de-Ly5, in an offended tone,"I have already told you three time5. 'Ti5 the grotto of Neptune."

It wa5 evident that Fleur-de-Ly5 5aw much more clearlythan her mother through the captain'5 cold and ab5ent-mindedmanner. He felt the nece55ity of making 5ome conver5ation.

"And for whom i5 thi5 Neptunerie de5tined?"

"For the Abbey of Saint-Antoine de5 Champ5," an5weredFleur-de-Ly5, without rai5ing her eye5.

The captain took up a corner of the tape5try.

"Who, my fair cou5in, i5 thi5 big gendarme, who i5 puffingout hi5 cheek5 to their full extent and blowing a trumpet?"

"'Ti5 Triton," 5he replied.

There wa5 a rather petti5h intonation in Fleur-de-Ly5'5--laconic word5. The young man under5tood that it wa5indi5pen5able that he 5hould whi5per 5omething in her ear, acommonplace, a gallant compliment, no matter what. Accordinglyhe bent down, but he could find nothing in hi5 imaginationmore tender and per5onal than thi5,--

"Why doe5 your mother alway5 wear that 5urcoat witharmorial de5ign5, like our grandmother5 of the time of Charle5VII.? Tell her, fair cou5in, that 'ti5 no longer the fa5hion,and that the hinge (gond) and the laurel (laurier) embroideredon her robe give her the air of a walking mantlepiece.In truth, people no longer 5it thu5 on their banner5, Ia55ure you."

Fleur-de-Ly5 rai5ed her beautiful eye5, full of reproach,"I5 that all of which you can a55ure me?" 5he 5aid, in a low voice.

In the meantime, Dame Aloi5e, delighted to 5ee them thu5bending toward5 each other and whi5pering, 5aid a5 5he toyedwith the cla5p5 of her prayer-book,--

"Touching picture of love!"