"One moment, please," said she quickly, "I ask for no confessions from you, seeing that they would be superfluous. For the last six months I have been gaining information about you, I have been studying you, and now I know you. That sounds flattering, does it not? Do not let yourselves be prematurely inflated with pride, for you are very, very far from divining either the thought which has actuated me, or the object of my inquiries. First of all I will consider you generally, in the aggregate, if you prefer it. You are, each of you, from thirty to thirty-five years of age, the best age for marriage; on that point I profess myself satisfied. You are neither," continued she laughing, "too prepossessing nor too plain; you can all of you boast that golden mien, as far as appearances are concerned, which every sensible woman would desire in the man whom she intends to acknowledge as her lord. Each of you is in the enjoyment of a fortune sufficiently large to secure independence, and to divest marriage with a rich woman of even a suspicion of mercenary motives. You have your faults, no doubt; who, indeed, has not? But those persons from whom I have gained my information assure me that you have no vices, and that is sufficient for me. Moreover, during the siege of Paris, which in some degree was a standard by which to test the men of our time, you all of you bore yourselves as good men and true. Lastly, you have shown yourselves, capable of creating occupations for yourselves and you have the great merit, which I gladly acknowledge, of being neither idlers nor useless members of society. I have thus, as I promised, described you generally, and now I will sum you up individually. "You, M. de Morin," continued the Baroness, addressing the one who was seated nearest to her, "you are one of our most notable draughtsmen. I know the greater part of your works, and I appreciate them, both from an artistic point of view, and as a woman who has a certain object in view. But the moment has not come to unfold that object, so you must perforce exercise your patience a little longer. You are, moreover, daring to a degree; that is to say, no adventure, however perilous, would cause you to recoil. You have an intuitive genius, and are formed for attack; a shrewd commander would appoint you to the Zouaves. I shall post you—but we will discuss that later on. Take your place in the ranks, Mr. Zouave, and I will pass on to No 2." The young aspirant, who was seated next to M. de Morin, at once made ready for the inspection, for he stood up, saluted his hostess after the military fashion, and sat down again. Madame de Guéran smilingly continued—