years old was playing. The young woman
refused to take anything for the milk she
had given us, and returned, with a slight
tinge of pride as I thought, the few sous I
put into her child's hand— I call the child
hers, because it evidently was so.

We thanked her and left the house. " And
pray tell me the story that I see belongs to
these people," said I to the doctor. " Very
well," said the doctor to me; and thus began:

The overthrow of Louis Philippe's government
in forty-eight, gave rise, as you must be
aware, to many plots, real or imaginary,
against the dignity and safety of the infant
republic. In one of these, Jacques Lacoste
(the father of the young woman you have
just seen) was mixed up. He was
apprehended, tried, and transported to Cayenne
for six years.

The execution of this sentence reduced his
family, which had been one of the most
prosperous of the small proprietors of the
valley, almost to indigence, and awakened
them from their former life of ease and
well rewarded industry to one of
unremitting labour. The family consisted of
the mother, son, and two daughters: the
eldest of whom, Julie, was about eighteen
when this cruel event befell them. From a
child, Julie had attracted attention, not only
on account of her great beauty, but for
a natural quickness of intellect, and the
kindness and sensibility of her disposition.
Her abilities had not escaped the notice of
the village priest, who took some slight pains
in cultivating them. From him she learnt
to speak French (the Basque or Bearnais, as
you well know, being the jargon of this
district), to write, and to read, of which latter
acquirement she made good use. Humble as
such advantages were, they raised her far
above her companions; of whom she soon
became the admiration and oracle. The
exercise of the intellectual powers has always
an effect on the countenance; on Julie's
naturally kind face, kindness and sensibility
became more strongly stamped: while the
merriness of her eye was tamed by a look of
thoughtfulness, destroyed, at times, by a
demure coquettish glance which would be
fixed on you from under her eyelids. Kind
and useful in her sphere, of the world she
knew nothing; she had never wandered
beyond the valley, or the gorge in which
the valley terminates. If she had heard of
places larger than her own village, it was
from some travelled son of the mountains,
who had been to Bayonne, or even as far
as Toulouse, and who astonished her by
his account of the extent and luxury of the
cities.

Julie soon began to perceive that, although
she might assist her family by remaining at
home, she could assist them much more by
seeking employment in one of these great
towns of which she had heard. It was no selfish
feeling which prompted her to this course;
too good to be selfish, her every thought was
for those she would leave behind her.

Although she had made known her wish
on this point to those most able to assist her
in it, an accident solved all difficulties, and
brought about her desire.

A lady, travelling with a mountain party,
had the misfortune to fall from her horse, by
the turning of the saddle. She sustained no
injury beyond a slight cut on the lips, and a
severe shock of the nerves. Her companions
led her into the first cottage which presented
itself, which happened to be that of
Julie's mother. The assiduous and kind
attentions of Julie won the sufferer's favour,
and she proposed to the delighted girl to
become her maid. The offer was joyously
accepted; and Julie was instructed to
present herself at the lady's house at Pau
in a week's time.

The lady into whose family Julie was
about to enter, was fond of company, and her
house was frequented by her own countrymen,
as well as by the numerous English residents,
who for health or pleasure invaded the town
every winter. She had been long married, but
had no family. Lively and witty herself, she
chose her company for their being so too;
and, as long as they contributed to her
amusement and the adornment of her rooms,
she was not otherwise very particular
regarding their characters.

Among the many visitors of Madame Laville,
Julie's mistress, was Charles Downham, a young
Englishman of good education and polished
manners; twenty-two years of age, not very
handsome; of the middle height, well made.
His voice was remarkably soft and winning,
but it was his eyes which gave expression to
his countenance; their frank and fearless
glance, tempered with great good nature,
enlisted all whom he addressed in his favour.
He had originally been intended for a
collegian, but in consequence of a serious reverse
his father's fortune became insufficient to
bear this expense. He had accompanied his
parents to Pau to economise, and to perfect
himself in speaking French, prior to entering
a merchant's office.

Of course, a mountain-girl so beautiful as
Julie attracted no slight notice from the
various young men who frequented Madame
Laville's; but, to all little flatteries she turned
a deaf ear. She was not influenced, as most
young and unsophisticated girls, in like
circumstances would have been, by the love of dress
and finery. What she could spare from her
wages was religiously laid aside for those at
home. This seemed to be the sole object of her
existence, and engrossed her every thought.
It would have been well for her, if this good
motive had continued to occupy her mind.
By the death of an unmarried uncle,
however, her family became the heirs of his
little property, and suddenly recovered their
former position.

With this change of fortune, Julie's