"What! Does it say that?" asked the count.
"What surprises you?"
"Isilda's grandfather, the old man who died two years ago, was called Malreich, which is the German form of the same name."
"Capital! Isilda's grandfather must have been the son or the grandson of the French servant who wrote his diary in an odd volume of Montesquieu's works. And that is how the diary came into Isilda's hands."
He turned the pages at random:
"15 September, 1796. His Royal Highness went hunting.
"20 September, 1796. His Royal Highness went out riding. He was mounted on Cupidon."
"By Jove!" muttered Lupin. "So far, it's not very exciting."
He turned over a number of pages and read:
"12 March, 1803. I have remitted ten crowns to Hermann. He is giving music-lessons in London."