"We resided a great deal on the continent before I was married, and my mother had a favourite maid, called Françoise, who lived with her many years—a most trustworthy, excellent creature, in whom she had the greatest confidence; insomuch, that when I married, being very young and very inexperienced, as she was obliged to separate from me herself, she transferred Françoise to my service, considering her better able to take care of me than anybody else.
"I was living in Paris then, where Françoise, who was a native of Metz, had some relations settled in business, whom she often used to visit. She was generally very chatty when she returned from these people; for I knew all her affairs, and through her, all their affairs; and I took an interest in whatever concerned her or hers.
"One Sunday evening, after she had been spending the afternoon with this family, observing that she was unusually silent, I said to her, while she was undressing me, 'Well, Françoise, haven't you anything to tell me? How are your friends? Has Madame Pelletier got rid of her grippe?'
"Françoise started as if I had awakened her out of a reverie, and said, 'Oh! oui, Madame; oui, mercé; elle se porte bien aujourd'hui.'
"'And Monsieur Pelletier and the children, are they well?'
"'Oui, Madame, merci; ils se portent bien.'
"These curt answers were so unlike those she generally gave me, that I was sure her mind was pre-occupied, and that something had happened since we parted in the morning; so I turned round to look her in the face, saying 'Mais, qu'avez vous donc, Françoise? Qu'est ce qu'il y a?'
"Then I saw what I had not observed before, that she was very pale, and that her cheeks had a glazed look, which showed that she had been crying.
"'Mais, ma bonne Françoise,' I said; 'vous avez quelque chose—est il arrivé quelque malheur à Metz?'
"'C'est cela, Madame,' answered Françoise, who had a brother there whom she had not seen for several years, but to whom she still continued affectionately attached. His name was Benoît, and he was in a good service as garde forestier to a nobleman who possessed very extensive estates, près de chez nous, as Françoise said. He had a wife and children; and some time before the period I am referring to, Françoise had told me, with great satisfaction, that in order to make him more comfortable, the Prince de M—— had given Benoît the privilege of gathering up all the dead wood in the forest to sell for firewood, which, as the estate was very large, rendered his situation extremely profitable. When she said 'c'est cela, Madame,' Françoise, who had just encased me in my dressing gown, sunk into a chair, and having declared that she was bête, très bête, she gave way to a hearty good cry, after which, being somewhat relieved, she told me the following strange story:—