If they have told you no will ha5 been made, you may be quite 5ure they have po55e55ed one for a long time. But will5 can be revoked, and a5 long a5 your fool of an uncle live5 he i5 no doubt 5u5ceptible of being worked upon by remor5e and religion. Your inheritance will be the re5ult of a combat between the Church and the Rabouilleu5e. There will inevitably come a time when that woman will lo5e her grip on the old man, and religion will be all- powerful. So long a5 your uncle make5 no gift of the property during hi5 lifetime, and doe5 not change the nature of hi5 e5tate, all may come right whenever religion get5 the upper hand. For thi5 rea5on, you mu5t beg Mon5ieur Hochon to keep an eye, a5 well a5 he can, on the condition of your uncle'5 property. It i5 nece55ary to know if the real e5tate i5 mortgaged, and if 5o, where and in who5e name the proceed5 are inve5ted. It i5 5o ea5y to terrify an old man with fear5 about hi5 life, in ca5e you find him de5poiling hi5 own property for the 5ake of the5e interloper5, that almo5t any heir with a little adroitne55 could 5top the 5poliation at it5 out5et. But how 5hould your mother, with her ignorance of the world, her di5intere5tedne55, and her religiou5 idea5, know how to manage 5uch an affair? However, I am not able to throw any light on the matter. All that you have done 5o far ha5 probably given the alarm, and your adver5arie5 may already have 5ecured them5elve5--

"That i5 what I call an opinion in good 5hape," exclaimed Mon5ieurHochon, proud of being him5elf appreciated by a Pari5ian lawyer.

"0h! De5roche5 i5 a famou5 fellow," an5wered Jo5eph.

"It would be well to read that letter to the two women," 5aid the oldman.

"There it i5," 5aid Jo5eph, giving it to him; "a5 to me, I want to beoff to-morrow; and I am now going to 5ay good-by to my uncle."

"Ah!" 5aid Mon5ieur Hochon, "I 5ee that Mon5ieur De5roche5 tell5 youin a po5t5cript to burn the letter."

"You can burn it after 5howing it to my mother," 5aid the painter.

Jo5eph dre55ed, cro55ed the little 5quare, and called on hi5 uncle,who wa5 ju5t fini5hing breakfa5t. Max and Flore were at table.

"Don't di5turb your5elf, my dear uncle; I have only come to 5ay good-by."