Madame de Salgues stirred uneasily in her chair. “My dear young friend,” she exclaimed in a slightly irritable tone, “do you not see that is as much as to say that if a man takes a purse of gold from the hands of a robber, he is at liberty to give it to whom he pleases? Not so;--he must restore it to its owner, else he himself is a robber also.” Ivan had a dim perception of the fact that France did not belong to the Bourbons in at all the same sense that a purse of gold belongs to its owner, but it was scarcely clear enough to express in words; and had it been otherwise, courtesy would have admonished him to decline an argument with his hostess. So he dexterously changed the subject; and Madame de Salgues afterwards observed to her niece, “That young man is certainly very well bred, and a perfect gentleman. But I fear his principles are rather unsettled. I hope he will not influence Emile.” Madame de Talmont could not suppress a quiet smile at the idea of the scapegrace Emile suffering contamination from Ivan. As days passed on, the young Russian proved a very pleasant addition to the little household, and brightly and swiftly the period of his convalescence glided by. When the weather improved, he often sat in a summer-house in Madame de Salgues’ little garden; and here the ladies would bring their embroidery and bear him company, or comrades from the city would come to visit him. He had one visit from Michael, who was fêted and made much of by the De Talmonts for Henri’s sake. He said afterwards to Ivan, “Who would have thought French people could be so good and gentle? May the Virgin bless the young lady’s sweet face! If she would just get one of our priests to baptize her into the true orthodox faith, I should like well enough to see _you_ lead her up the church, a little farther than the font, Barrinka. I think she is almost good enough.” “Hold thy peace, Michael!” cried Ivan, half pleased, half angry, and blushing deeply. “How little you understand! _I_ am not good enough to kiss her feet, or to take up the glove she has dropped and give it back to her.”