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Besides, she knew hardly any one at Pau, as her physicians had forbidden her any excitement; at the foot of the Pyrenees, she lived, as at Maisons-Lafitte, an almost solitary life; and Michel Menko had been during that winter, which he now recalled to Marsa, speaking of it as of a lost Eden, her sole companion, the only guest of the house she inhabited with Vogotzine in the neighborhood of the castle.
The Prince and Princess responded with a wave of the hand; and General Vogotzine, who was seated under the shade of a chestnut-tree, with his coat unbuttoned and his collar open, tried in vain to rise to his feet and salute the departure of the last guest.
"Oh, insane, I tell you! absolutely insane! mad as a March hare! Two days ago, you see " "Well, what? two days ago?" "Because, two days ago! "Well, what? What is it? Speak, Vogotzine!" "The despatch," stammered the General. "What despatch?" "The des despatch from Florence." "She has received a despatch from Florence?"
The borders of the Seine, which were entirely fresh to them, and which recalled the pictures of the salon, were a delightful novelty to these people, accustomed to the dusty streets of the city. Seated between the Prince and the Japanese, and opposite Varhely and General Vogotzine, the Baroness thoroughly enjoyed her breakfast.
In a new place her stupor might disappear, and her mind be roused from its torpor; but a constant surveillance was necessary. Vogotzine felt the blood throb in his temples as he listened to the doctor's decision. The establishment at Vaugirard! His niece, the daughter of Prince Tchereteff, and the wife of Prince Zilah, in an insane asylum!
Old General Vogotzine was, in fact, the only living relative of Prince Tchereteff. In consideration of a yearly income, the Prince charged him to watch over Marsa, and see to her establishment in life. Rich as she was, Marsa would have no lack of suitors; but Tisza, the half-civilized Tzigana, was not the one to guide and protect a young girl in Paris.
Then, half suffocated, Vogotzine flung the paper on the floor; and, with eyes distended with horror, drawing the caraffe of kummel toward him, he half emptied it, drinking glass after glass to recover his self-control. It seemed to him that Froloff was there behind him, and that the branches of the candelabra, stretching over his heated head, were the arms of gibbets ready to seize him.
He had still to obtain a description of the bride's toilettes, the genealogy of General Vogotzine, a sketch of the bridegroom's best friend, Varhely, and a thousand other details. "Where will the wedding take place?" he asked the Baroness. "At Maisons-Lafitte. Oh! everything is perfect, my dear Jacquemin, perfect! An idyl! All the arrangements are exquisite, exquisite!
"We will take a look at her first; and then, if you will be so kind, show yourself to her suddenly. It is only an experiment we are making. If she does not recognize you, her condition is graver than I think. If she does recognize you, well, I hope that we shall be able to cure her. Come!" Dr. Sims motioned the Prince to precede them. "Shall I accompany you, gentlemen?" asked Vogotzine.
I don't know anything!" "Ah! she is expecting him!" cried Andras. "When?" "I don't know!" "You told me it was to be this evening. This evening, is it not?" The old General felt as ill at ease as if he had been before a military commission or in the hands of Froloff. "Yes, this evening." "At Maisons-Lafitte?" "At Maisons," responded Vogotzine, mechanically. "And all this wearies me wearies me.
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