"Believe me," said he, "to be loved by you, whatever the name of the place I occupy in your heart, will give me strength and courage. Rest assured, Brigitte, no one will ever understand you better than I; another will love you more worthily, no one will love you more truly. Another will be considerate of those feelings that I offend, he will surround you with his love; you will have a better lover, you will not have a better brother. Give me your hand and let the world laugh at a word that it does not understand: Let us be friends; and adieu forever. Before we became such intimate friends there was something within that told us that we were destined to mingle our lives. Let that part of us which is still joined in God's sight never know that we have parted upon earth; let not the paltry chance of a moment undo the union of our eternal happiness!" He held the woman's hand; she arose, tears streaming from her eyes, and, stepping up to the mirror with a strange smile on her face, she cut from her head a long tress of hair; then she looked at herself, thus disfigured and deprived of a part of her beautiful crown, and gave it to her lover. The clock struck again; it was time to go; when they passed out they seemed as joyful as when they entered. "What a glorious sun," said the young man. "And a beautiful day," said Brigitte, "the memory of which shall never fade." They hastened away and disappeared in the crowd. A moment later a carriage passed over a little hill beyond Fontainebleau. The young man was the only occupant; he looked for the last time upon his native town as it disappeared in the distance and thanked God that, of the three beings who had suffered through his fault, there remained but one of them still unhappy.