"'This imp of Satan must have come to the house of God for some deviltry or other,' she remarked to me.
"On the afternoon of that same day, Madame de la Rochaiguë insisted upon my driving with her and one of her friends, Madame la Duchesse de Senneterre, a lady I had never met before. We went to the Bois. There were a great many people there, and as our carriage was moving along at a snail's pace, Madame de la Rochaiguë remarked to her friend:
"'Isn't that your son I see on horseback over there, my dear duchess?'
"'Yes, I believe it is Gerald,' replied Madame de Senneterre, turning her lorgnette in the direction indicated.
"'I hope he will see us, and come and speak to us,' added Madame de Mirecourt, who was also with us.
"'Oh, M. de Senneterre will not fail to do that, as the duchess fortunately is with us,' replied Madame de la Rochaiguë. 'I say fortunately, but that is not exactly the word, as that lady's presence prevents us from saying all we would like to say in M. Gerald's praise.'
"'Oh, as for that, I warn you I haven't a bit of maternal modesty,' answered Madame de Senneterre, smiling. 'I never hear half enough nice things said about my son.'
"'However exacting you may be, you ought to be very well satisfied on that score, it seems to me, my dear duchess,' replied Madame de Mirecourt.
"'But speaking of M. de Senneterre, did you ever hear why he enlisted as a common soldier, at the age of eighteen?' continued Madame de Mirecourt, addressing Madame de la Rochaiguë.
"'No,' replied that lady, 'I have heard that, beginning as a common soldier, in spite of his birth, he gained his several promotions, as well as his cross, on the battlefield, at the cost of several wounds; but I never heard why he enlisted.'