“I was forbidden the house; I begged and prayed in vain; nothing could move the fair devotee, and I became ill from grief. Well, last week, her cousin, Madame d'Arville, who is your cousin also, sent me word that she should like to see me, and when I called, she told me on what conditions I might obtain my pardon, and here they are. I must bring her a relic, a real, authentic relic of some virgin and martyr, certified to be such by our Holy Father, the Pope, and I am going mad from embarrassment and anxiety. “I will go to Rome, if needful, but I cannot call on the Pope unexpectedly, to tell him my stupid misadventure; and, besides, I doubt whether they allow private individuals to have relics. Could not you give me an introduction to some cardinal, or even to some French prelate who possesses some remains of a female saint? Or, perhaps, you may have the precious object she wants in your collection? “Help me out of my difficulty, my dear Abbe, and I promise you that I will be converted ten years sooner than I otherwise should be! “Madame d'Arville, who takes the matter seriously, said to me the other day: “'Poor Gilberte will never marry.' “My dear old schoolmate, will you allow your cousin to die the victim of a stupid piece of subterfuge on my part? Pray prevent her from being virgin eleven thousand and one. “Pardon me, I am unworthy, but I embrace you, and love you with all my heart. “Your old friend, “HENRI FONTAL.” End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Original Short Stories of Maupassant, Volume 3, by Guy de Maupassant