"By the way, do you know they say she is said to be lying at the point of death?" "Madame de Beaumesnil?" "Yes; she is about to receive the last sacrament. At least that is what they told Madame de Mirecourt, who stopped to inquire for her on her way here." "Her case must, indeed, have been incurable, then, for her physician is that famous Doctor Gasterini, who is as great a savant as he is a gourmand, which is certainly saying a good deal." "Poor woman! she is young to die." "And what an immense fortune her daughter will have," exclaimed M. de Mornand. "She will be the richest heiress in France, and an orphan besides. What a rare titbit for a fortune-hunter!" As he uttered these words, M. de Mornand's eyes encountered those of his friend Ravil. Both started slightly, as if the same idea had suddenly occurred to both of them. With a single look they must have read each other's thoughts. "The richest heiress in France!" "And an orphan!" "And an immense landed property besides!" exclaimed the three other men in accents of undisguised covetousness. After which, one of them, without noticing the interchange of glances between M. de Mornand and his friend, continued: "And how old is this Mlle. de Beaumesnil?" "Not over fifteen," replied M. de Ravil, "and exceedingly unprepossessing in appearance, sickly and positively insignificant looking, in fact." "Sickly,--that is not objectionable, by any means, quite the contrary," said one of the party, reflectively. "And homely?" remarked another, turning to Ravil. "You have seen her, then?" "Not I, but one of my aunts saw the girl at the Convent of the Sacred Heart before Beaumesnil took her to Italy by the physician's order." "Poor Beaumesnil, to die in Naples from a fall from his horse!" "And you say that Mlle. de Beaumesnil is very homely?" he continued, while M. de Mornand seemed to grow more and more thoughtful. "Hideous! I think it more than likely that she's going into a decline, too, from what I hear," responded Ravil, disparagingly; "for, after Beaumesnil's death, the physician who had accompanied them to Naples declared that he would not be responsible for the result if Mlle. de Beaumesnil returned to France. She is a consumptive, I tell you, a hopeless consumptive." "A consumptive heiress!" exclaimed another man ecstatically. "Can any one conceive of a more delightful combination!" "Ah, yes, I understand," laughed Ravil, "but it is absolutely necessary that the girl should live long enough for a man to marry her, which Mlle. de Beaumesnil is not likely to do. She is doomed. I heard this through M. de la Rochaigue, her nearest relative. And he ought to know, as the property comes to him at her death, if she doesn't marry. Perhaps that accounts for his being so sanguine." "What a lucky thing it would be for Madame de la Rochaigue, who is so fond of luxury and society!" "Yes, in other people's houses."