"'Not touched.'
"'Wonderful! I would fain possess such a relic.'
"'Indeed!—and you would carry it?'
"'Undoubtedly—since the relic saved the dog, it would of course—But stay, is it quite certain that a heretic is as good as a Catholic's dog?'
"Without listening to him, Madame de Turgis hastily unbuttoned the top of her closely fitting habit, and took from her bosom a little gold box, very flat, suspended by a black ribbon. 'Here,' she said,—'you promised to wear it. You shall return it me one day.'
"'Certainly. If I am able.'
"'But you will take care of it? No sacrilege! You will take the greatest care of it!'
"'I have received it from you, madam.'
"She gave him the relic, and he hung it round his neck.
"'A Catholic would have thanked the hand that bestowed the holy talisman.'