“Oh! never fear, mamma! Edouard will always have occupation! I myself will undertake to provide him with it! In the first place, all the details of our affairs;--he will have to look after the management of our little fortune; and then the care of our little country house, the time in my company and the walks we shall take----” “But, my dear love, one cannot walk all the time.” “Of course not! but then we will rest, or work in the garden. And our children, to whom you do not give a thought; shall we not have to bring them up, to look after their education, to guide their first steps?” “Ah! you are thinking already of your children?” “Yes, mamma; they come into our plans.” “What a mad creature you are, my dear Adeline!” “No, mamma; on the contrary, you will see that I shall be very sensible, and my husband too.” Madame Germeuil did not seem altogether convinced of the wisdom of her daughter’s plans; but she proposed to keep constant watch upon the conduct of her two children, and she knew that Adeline, always given to building castles in Spain, would be the first to abandon her errors, if she should ever commit any. As to Edouard, he would do whatever they wished, so that it was only a question of giving him good advice, and of not following the example of his wife, who always agreed with him. After breakfast they discussed the question where they would live. They had sent out for a copy of the _Petites-Affiches_; Adeline passed the paper to her husband, and Madame Germeuil was trying to remember in which direction the air was likely to be most healthy, when Murville uttered a cry of surprise and jumped up from his chair. “What is it, my dear?” asked Adeline, amazed by her husband’s excitement. “It is the very place,” said Edouard, still reading the paper; “at Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, the house looking on the fields, two floors, a large garden, a summer-house, a courtyard, an iron fence----” “Well, my dear, is that what nearly made you upset the breakfast table?” “Oh! my dear love! oh! my dear mamma--that house----” “Do you know it?” “Do I know it! It belonged to my father, and I passed a great part of my youth there.” “Is it possible?” “Misfortune compelled us to sell it, but I have always regretted it.” “Why, my dear, you never mentioned it to us.” “I didn’t know that it was for sale now.” “It is settled, my dear, let us not look any farther; we have found what we want, the house where you passed a large part of your childhood! Dear Edouard! Oh! how we shall enjoy living there!--You agree, mamma, do you not?” “Why, my child, if the house is not too dear----” “Oh! it can’t be too dear; it is Edouard’s house; we shall be so happy there!” “Villeneuve-Saint-Georges--yes, I believe that the air is very good there!” “Certainly it’s delicious; let us start at once, dear.” “But it is already late, my child, for you did not get up early; and if we should wait until to-morrow----”